The Youth of the Dalish
by FakeNerd
Summary: Ever wondered what is like being a Dalish elven kid in the world of Dragon Age? If you have, the you might want to accompany Juli, an eight-year-old archer prodigy, in this adventure. Follow Juli on his journey to becoming a teenager as he faces all of the wacky things in the Dragon Age world: darkspawn, magic, templars, and even demons.
1. Mother

"Mother, why are humans so cruel to elves?"

Cathy was startled by her son's question. She knew that her son was one of the smartest kids of the clan, but he was only eight. How could he already be asking questions that were only merely asked by adults? Cathy held her gaze toward her son's half lightened face by the blaze of the fire between them. She finally, after an almost awkward moment, spoke with a grin. "Now, who told you that young man?"

Juli responded rather quickly. "Uncle told me."

"Damn Nicholas," Cathy whispered to herself, "you couldn't wait until he was a teenager to tell him that." Cathy adjusted herself on the log she had been sitting on. "Well humans…" she smiled and still held her gaze, but her face, as always, was outlined with tenderness for her beloved son, "are different from us."

Juli was baffled. "But like they don't have pointy ears like us you mean?"

Cathy wanted to be kind to her son, but she couldn't. She couldn't be soft not even to her son, not when it came to talk about those beasts they call humans. "No, humans are different from the D _alish_ because they think they're above us elves. As oppose to the _Dalish,_ noble believers who want to be left alone. They think that their status justifies their cruelty." Her grin faded, and she started poking the fire with a stick. She was now looking at the fire rather than at her son. She was staring at the fire because its flames reminded her of humans' hearts. Cathy always thought their hearts were just like a fire, fueled by pride, but one day that pride will consume them, just like the fire consumes the twigs. She stared and poked the fire for another moment, she was letting her son ponder what she had just said. She decided, he had had enough time to ponder it, "They are prideful beasts that think of the unknown as a threat."

Juli cocked an eyebrow. He licked his lips, Cathy noticed. His face gave her the intuition that her son, will be one of those curious kids. His face manifested hunger, but not for food. He was hungry to know more about these prideful beasts. But why? Cathy asked herself. Most kids, especially this young, will just take the hint that these beasts are not friends. That they are not to be trustworthy. We are not to be fond of them.

Juli did not take that hint. "They are cruel to us, D _alish,_ because they don't understand us?"

Cathy decided to stop poking the fire and threw the stick onto it. She now looked at her son again, but this time she studied him. She did not hold a gaze at him, but rather looked at him with curiosity. Her son's eagerness to learn made her glad, but it also scared her. It scared her because she knew now more than ever that she would not be able to lie to her son, ever. It wasn't that Cathy wanted to lie to her son, but there were things, Cathy thought, that a typical eight year old is not ready for. But _Juli_ was not a typical eight year old, and Cathy has known that since he was six. At the age of six he had already shown an interest in archery. At the age of seven he started going hunting with his father. At the age of seven most kids would still play with other kids, but not J _uli_ , he'd rather play with a bow and arrow in the woods than play tag with the other kids. _Juli_ was a special eight year old. Cathy leaned in. "Something like that," she got up and dabbed her knees, in an effort to clean off some dust. "Oh right young man, time for bed. You must rest to gather energy to hunt tomorrow."

Juli rose from his log, in a nimble manner. "Almost forgot." Juli stood there and looked at the fire with his mother. They were both staring at the fire now. The silence between them was only punctuated by the cracks of the twigs that were now getting louder as the last twigs burned to ashes. Cathy listened carefully to the cracks of the twigs— not cracks, screams. Twigs screaming in a fire as the last bits of them are burned to ashes. Unfortunately, the screams came in too late. These poor twigs have already been not just charred but burned completely to ashes. Those cracks, Cathy thought, are the cries of humans after their pride consumes them. Cathy looked at her son and took his gentle hand in hers. "Come on now, got a big day ahead of you tomorrow".


	2. Father

Juli laid on his bed. His bed, made of vines and wood, was not as comfortable as the luxurious bed that Templars got at the Chantry, but he liked it. Juli was comforted by the fact that he wasn't a Templar. He wondered if Templars felt the same way about him as he did about them. Did they think of the _Dalish_ as prideful beasts? Did they think that the _Dalish_ were not trustworthy? Juli trusted that Mother was telling the truth, but he still felt curious to find out more about humans. Juli opened his eyes, and noticed that the sun was just rising, it was dawn. He could see the reddish orange of the sun through the slit underneath his tent. Juli decided to get up so he could have some extra time to get ready to hunt with Father. Juli knew it was early, but he realized how early it was when he got out of his tent and saw nobody was had woken. Juli stood in the middle of the camp and admired the silence for a moment. A silence that was only interrupted by that weird sound that crickets made. Juli always wondered why they made that sound, and why they only made it throughout the night. He walked to the river that was downhill from the camp. It was one of the sweetest perks of being part of the Velthrin clan, having a river right next to the camp. He cupped some water into his hands and splashed it onto his face. Juli loved splashing his face with water in the morning, it quelled the heaviness that he felt after waking up. He felt… _cleansed_ after washing his face with water. He heard someone approach. Was it Mother? Father? Juli felt confident that it had to be someone form the camp since any outsider had to go through the camps' traps to get to the river.

"Someone is excited to go hunting." It was Father.

His husky voice was so indistinguishable that it was one of the few things that Juli knew made his father different from the other fathers in the camp. Juli turned around and held a gaze at his father, for a moment he contemplated his father's unique facial features shining on the young sun of the morning. His reddish almost orange face glistened on the sun. The brightness of the sun gave his red beard a brighter red. That brightness, somehow, made his tanned skin eve more tan, almost orange. Father kneeled about the edge of the river, and started washing his face. Juli noticed how similar him and his father were at doing the simple task of washing one's face. The way he cupped his hand and looked at the tiny pool of water for one second and then splashed his face, just like he did. Juli admired his father for a lot of things. One of them was the fact that he was considered the best hunter of the camp. He hoped to be as good of a hunter as his father one day. "Get ready little hunter," Juli's father grinned and put his hand on Juli's shoulder, "I'll get the others." He got up and started back for the camp.


	3. Hunters

"How we doing, Kurl?" His friend said as Kurl walked back into the camp. His friend was loading his arrows into a black quiver over a table.

"I could be a dwarf living underground killing darkspawn, so I'm doing pretty good myself, better than a dwarf for sure." His friend smiled, Kurl noted. "Taking Juli hunting today?" His friend cocked his head.

"Yeah, that kid is something else you know. Most eight-year olds want to stay here at the camp while the grown-ups do the errands, but not Juli. Amazing, yes?"

His friend's smile faded. He was now worried. Kurl's friend walked up to him, and looked around at the other tents. With this motion, Kurl knew right away what his friend was going to say, he had known him for eight years now. "Yeah, I guess, but it is dangerous out there you know," his friend was being solemn, "these mad templars and mages fighting…" his friend got closer to him and placed his hand on Kurl's shoulder. "I know you want to teach him to be a hunter and defend himself, but be careful, I don't want you to lose Juli like I lost." Tobias sighed, he couldn't say it. Kurl knew how difficult it was for Tobias to talk about his son. He had lost his son in a battle of Templars against a beast that possessed a mage that was experimenting with blood magic.

Damn those Mages, Kurl thought. "I will make sure nothing happens to Juli, I promise." Kurl appreciated his friend's concern for his son. Tobias nodded, and removed his hand from his friend's shoulder. Kurl looked at his son, who was putting his arrows inside his red quiver near his tent. At this point in the morning, Kurl observed,the whole camp was in motion. Hunters had already been gathered by Tobias. They were standing next to Juli, huddled. It was five of them, including Juli. Juli was dwarfed by every other hunter on the group. Each one of them was at least two feet taller than Juli. It was obvious that Juli was belittled by these men in flesh, but not in spirit. Despite being an eight year old kid, his enthusiasm for hunting was far greater than any of them, and that concerned Kurl. It concerned him because being a hunter will put Juli in danger, at such _young_ age. They were all waiting for him, Kurl realized. He started for the group of excited hunters that wanted the glory of being the providers of the camp.


	4. Hunting

Stealthy and deftly they were. Well, all except Juli. He knew it. He knew he wasn't as skillful as his dad, or the other hunters. But he was a lot stealthier, than all of them. He knew this because they had used him so he'd take the shot when an animal was nearby. He missed the first two times, but got the hang of it by the third time. Although they would let him hunt, Father always seemed concerned, Juli thought. Father would always tell everyone to scout the area before I was anywhere near the animal.

They were scattered amongst the trees but they were close. Juli noticed this was the formation they always had. Juli figure that it was to cover ground, so it'd be easier for them to find prey. He was behind Father trying to pace with him. Father walked steadily at almost the same speed of the others— carefully striding aware of their surroundings. Juli did not look around like the others, he trusted Father's eyes, and he trusted those eyes more than his. Uncle made a motion with his head toward him and Father to go to him. Father and Juli, with arrow and bow at the ready, approached Nicholas.

"Check it out." said Uncle as he pointed to an oak tree in the far distance.

The tree was hard to see for Juli as it was at the far end of this jungle of trees they were inside of. The tree was beautiful, Juli thought. It was the greenest he had ever seen. It was so green that one could not see through it. Its immense amount of leafs made it look almost like a green mushroom. However, Uncle was not pointing at the tree, he was pointing at the horde of sheep under it. Father squinted at the sheep huddled in a circle centering the stem of the tree. "That's weird." Father said. Now even Juli saw it. He noticed that the sheep's butts were pointing to them, their heads pointing inwardly, toward the stem of the tree.

Uncle looked at Father and winced."Weird? This is bizarre, there ain't no sheep in these lands."

Juli had heard stories that anomalies like these were more than likely ether a gift from Andraste, or some weird blood magic experiment conducted by an apostate mage. Father called the others in with a hand motion. They all approached us with baffled faces. They knew something was wrong when they saw the dread in Father and Uncles' faces.

"Mage trick?" said Tobias with even more dread on his face than the others.

Father peered at him and Uncle,"Nicholas, stay with _Juli._ " Juli wanted to go with Father. Father crouched, he was now face to face with Juli. "Do me a favor little hunter," Juli nodded, "stay here with uncle, we need you two as back-up in case anything happens, righto?" Juli knew Father was lying, somehow he always knew when people were holding something back, jus like Mother and the humans.

"Be careful." said Juli as he pulled Father in for a hug.

"Don't worry, hunter, your old man will be alright." Father smiled, so did Juli.

Father and the others, including Tobias, went to the sheep. Except Juli and Uncle who stayed behind as "back-up."


	5. The Oak Tree

They were four, _Dalish,_ and _brave._ The lead hunter, Kurl, was in front of them, as they got near the oak tree. The other three, were friends of him, best friends. He had known these guys long enough to even know sometimes what they were thinking. He could tell what they desired, whether it was booze or time away from their wives. This time, he looked at their faces and he was able to tell right away what they desired— not being here, but being back at the camp with their loved ones. However, they knew that they _had_ to be here to provide for their families.

"Boys, I think we got a gift from Andraste." Kurl hoped he was right.

They approached the sheep, carefully. Everything seemed normal— just a hoard of sheep wandering aimlessly on these woods. Poor bastards, Kurl thought, they are here trying to survive and we're thinking of guiding them back to the camp, and eventually murder them and eat them. Kurl wondered if that made them savages, but he decided that _if_ this hoard of sheep was a gift from Andraste, _she_ wouldn't consider him or any of the clan members savages. Andraste's judgment was the only judgment that the _Dalish_ cared about. All the sheep were focused on looking at the stem of the tree. No matter what they tried, they would just come back to stare at the stem of the tree. They were so busy trying to get the sheep out of the center that they did not noticed what the sheep were _actually_ looking at. Then as Kurl got to the center of the huddled sheep, trying to push them outwardly, he saw what they were looking at. No what, but rather who. A lady with white highlights was sitting at the top of the chopped stem of the weird looking tree. Her legs were crossed, and her eyes closed. However, the weirdest part, Kurl noted, was that her skin was glowing with… _purple?_ Kurl did not need any more information to know what _this_ was… a mage. Kurl started running back to the group, but before he reached Tobias he felt a hand gripping at his foot. His intuition told him that this was hand, but then he got a good look at what grabbed him, not hand, but _hair_? He tried to move, but the hair-coated hand did not let go. He was paralyzed. "Whats wrong?" shouted Tobias, who was at the arch of the circle the sheep had formed. Hurl was yanked, and pulled by the hair. He tried to yank free of the hand but it was so strong, it was like he was being pulled by the oak tree and not a mage. He bellowed as the hand finally won the tug-of-war between him and the mage."Kurl!" said Tobias who was already running with others towards Kurl. Unfortunately, Kurl had already been sucked inside the tree.

"What do you want witch?" Kurl said, snarling.

Kurl observed the vile creature with disdain as it opened its eyes, which were completely mage smiled at him, a mocking smile, showing no teeth at all whatsoever. "Take _me_ and leave my friends alone!" Dread took over Kurl. His heart started beating faster. She can take me, but not my friends, not _Juli._

 _—_

" _Juli!_ " Uncle screamed at the top of his lungs. Juli ran towards the commotion. Father was pulled into that tree, and he was not willing to lose Father. Father was, beside Mother, one of the people he trusted the most. He could go blindfolded into the woods with Father, and he'd know Father will keep him safe. I trust _Father._ I _Love Father._ I will _not_ let anything bad happen to him. As Juli reached the outer arch of the sheep, the wind started blowing faster. The beautiful sun was replaced by dark clouds and thunder. Juli was startled by how quick the wether had changed. " _Father_!" he shouted, with tears on his face, as he observed the brusque storm started about. Juli did not care, he was willing to do whatever it took to save Father. Juli started for the tree, but a hand grabbed his forearm from behind. Tobias."Father is in that tree!" Tobias knew that, he had seen it happened. However, he will not be careless with Juli, like he was with his son. Tobias was barely understandable with the lighting, wind, and thunder, "The others went to help and they did not come back!" Juli tried to pull free from Tobias' arm, but he couldn't. "Juli, come on! There is no time!" Tobias had no choice but to punch Juli on the gut, he didn't want to but had to. The punch was so strong that Juli fell to the ground— unconscious.


	6. A Nightmare

White hair, no teeth, purple skin, and a despicable smile. The despicable creature was sitting, with _her_ legs crossed in front of Juli, they were divided by a fire. She was sitting on a log, so was Juli. Somehow, the night looked exactly like last night— him and Mother talking about humans. Except this time, it was this weird looking lady with blank white eyes, that seemed to penetrate his soul, staring. He didn't know how, but he somehow knew that this "lady" was not a friend of Mather or Father. Then he remembered everything— the storm, Father being sucked in by the tree, Tobias punching him to oblivion. As he remembered, the lady's face somehow went from smiling to laughing maniacally. Then Juli winced at the gruesome laughter of this creature. Somehow he also knew that it was because of this witch that Father died. Then he started sobbing, and the more he would weep the more the creature laughed. Eventually, he just closed his eyes, he couldn't take the torture that somehow he knew this lady was taking pleasure in his grief.

"Hey hunter." Father smiled as Juli faintly opened his wet eyes. Then he noticed, it wasn't Father, it was Father's brother— Uncle. "You ok buddy? You were crying on your sleep." Juli noticed that people were gathered inside his tent— almost the whole clan was here, including Keeper Omar, Mother, and Tobias. Juli peered around the group, looking for Father, but not luck. Juli fixed his eyes on Uncle, he got anxious and worried, "Where is Father?" Juli knew it was almost a bizarre question. However, Uncle seemed to understand. Uncle knew how Juli felt— perplexed, angry, and miserable. Uncle turned his gaze toward the floor, he didn't want to look at Juli. He and Tobias had stopped Juli from saving his own Father, who was also Nicholas' brother. However, Nicholas thought, in that dire situation it was either a Father or his child, and as a _Dalish,_ children _always_ came first. They are the future and _hope_ of the clan. Nicholas did not regret what he'd done, but he wasn't proud of it. Uncle did not answer. Juli noticed how mother was shuffling towards him. Cathy had been crying for hours now, her eyes were red. She sat on the bed, beside her son. She ran a hand through Juli's black mane. She and Juli held a gaze. They didn't talk, there was no need to. It was enough for them both to know that they were here for each other.


	7. The Keeper

Juli and Mother were holding hands. He didn't want to let go of Mother, didn't want to lose her too. Then the Keeper, Omar, was walking towards them, Juli sat up on his bed.

"How are you son?" Omar looked at Juli with compassion, and wove his fingers with each other.

"Fine." Juli looked at him with contempt. Juli did not like the man, he was a mage. "Son, I know this must be hard for you , is hard for all of us—"

"Don't call me son. Only Father and Mother can call me that."

Omar understood why Juli was being petulant— his father was killed by one of his kind. Omar stayed calm and patient, "I know you must hate me right now, but one day you'll understand that not all mages are as evil as you may think."

Juli was surprised that Omar knew his thoughts, he felt annoyed by this. Omar started away from Juli, out of his tent. Cathy let out a small grin— almost laughter. Juli was surprised. He thought he'll be in trouble for this, but Mother was rather pleased. Juli frowned upon Mother's unexpected smile. "Arrogant bastard." Cathy whispered to Juli.


	8. Grief

A few days passed. Someone got the corpses, they were all pale. The corpses looked so pale that it was hard discerning one from the other. Tobias and Uncle brought the corpses to Omar. Omar was going to cremate the bodies. Juli didn't like the idea, but he knew that it was one of the Keeper's jobs to prepare a proper ceremony for the deceased. However, Juli decided that Father deserved the best ceremony, and despite his dislike of Omar, no one else in the clan knew more about this sort of thing than the Keeper. Juli sat on the Hill that led to the river. He sat there thinking about Father, he wasn't crying though. He looked at the sun set, and it reminded him of Father. It reminded him that Father _was_ unique. Father _was_ beautiful. It had been a week since Father died, and he felt angrier than sadder. He was angry at the fact that he couldn't save Father. He was furious at himself for not being stronger.

"It's not your fault _Juli._ "Cathy said as she was standing behind him.

"I could've saved him. Mother, it _is_ my fault." Juli turned his head around to look at Mother. She frowned upon what Juli had just said. Did I upset her with something? Juli wondered. "Blaming ourselves will not solve anything." She walked towards Juli and sat next to him. She sighed and looked at the sun set with her son. Cathy noticed that Juli's eyes were not as wet as hers. She knew Juli was the kind to bottle things in, just like her ex-husband.

"You know, your Father always blamed himself for the death of his father, until he met me." She gave her son a gentle smile, but she spoke distantly as she looked at the sun. Her memory seemed as distant as the bright star itself, Cathy sighed,"He carried that burden for years, until I made him realize one must live life for oneself, because that's what our loved ones would ask of us from the fade. "

Juli looked at Mother, puzzled by Mother's sincerity. Juli nodded, almost reluctantly. The horizon had a darker orange than when Juli got here, and that orange turned to darkness as they both stared at the sun set.


	9. Mourning

Months passed after Father's death. Months passed since Juli had gone hunting. However, that did not stop Juli from practicing archery. For the past year, He'd get up every morning before anyone else to practice on the scoring rings placed on the camp. The archery yard was behind the camp, a curtain of vines was the only thing that separated the yard from the rest of the camp. Juli practiced so much that he would naturally hit the tiny yellow circle most of the time. This morning, Juli had been practicing for a couple of hours already. Juli decided that he had enough practice for the day. As Juli wheeled to head for the river, Uncle was standing there with his arms crossed and a serious face. Juli looked at him with surprise.

Juli had kept this a secret. He didn't want anyone to know what he was doing in the mornings. Mother didn't want him practicing archery, because she was afraid that Juli might, as a hunter, meet the same fate as Father. She wanted Juli to be an academic. Someone that would only explore the land of Thedas to look at things— to research and analyze the world. Juli did not like school, he would pretend to read and be interested in front of Mother, but there was nothing more that Juli wanted than to be outside the whole day shooting arrows.

"I thought Cathy didn't want you to practice archery." Nicholas said plainly.

Juli looked at the ground. He clutched his fists. "Please don't tell Mother."

Nicholas noticed the stoic tone of the boy. Nicholas understood how Juli felt, he felt the same way— angry, upset, and helpless. Nicholas approached his nephew. Nicholas knew Juli had bottled everything inside of him, and the only way for the boy, Nicholas thought, to release was through archery. Nicholas noticed the menace in Juli's eyes, and softened his tone. "Boy, I know you want him back, as do I."

Juli looked up at his uncle, he was able to tell how sincere his tone was. Juli always liked uncle for not hiding things like Mother. Uncle didn't hide the truth about humans, and so he knew Uncle wouldn't hide the truth now. "But you, me, or Cathy cannot bring him back."

Juli was holding tears till he couldn't anymore, he was weeping now. Uncle noticed Juli's pain, and he brought Juli in for a solacing hug.

"I know buddy, I miss him too."

Juli's face was smeared by two long lines of tears that began at the corners of his eyes and ended at his chin. Nicholas felt sorrow because of the loss as well, but he knew that Juli felt the most. He's just _ten_ years old, Nicholas thought . He wanted to do everything he could to make the kid feel better, but he knew that that was almost impossible, just like it was impossible to make himself feel better about losing his brother. Nicholas drew a handkerchief from his back-pocket and dabbed Juli's face."We have to be strong for him, little hunter." Juli smiled at the name— it was what Father used to call him.

Juli pulled away from Uncle, sniffing, used his arm to clean the snot off his nose. "Would you tell Mother that I've been practicing archery?"

Nicholas knew that even if he did tell Cathy, the kid would not stop practicing archery. His brother was one stubborn son-of-a-bitch, so was his son. He grinned, "Even if I did, you wouldn't stop, archery is in our blood." Nicholas' grin faded, he was not upset, just serious. "Still though, your ma' only wants the best for you. You hit those books, because archery alone will not help you survive in the world out there. Humans are merciless beasts. It takes more than brute force to survive in their world."

Juli appreciated the harsh truths that Uncle would reveal to him— even if Juli did not like to hear them. They both sensed someone stepping in through the vines, so they wheeled about. It was Mother. Only showing her tender face for Juli and a harsh one for Nicholas, Cathy figured what was what. "Nicholas, why are you back _here_ with Juli?" Her face was hard and rigid. Cathy didn't want Juli to see her like this, but she was too upset at Nicholas for bringing her son back here to practice the dangerous art that took her husband's life. Nicholas' face was swelled with shame. He knew how over-protective Cathy can be when it comes to her son, and he didn't judge her for it. He was the same way with his nephew, but he knew that one day Juli will have to face the world by himself, without any pampering from his mother. So he believed that Juli at least had the right to know how to defend himself in the real world. He waved his hands, in a motion of "wasn't me", to Cathy, "He was here when I came in."

Cathy softened her tone for Juli, "Honey, do you mind waiting for me in class?"

Juli nodded and started for Mother's class.

 _—_

"Where is his bow?" Cathy asked intensely.

Nicholas knew Cathy was upset, and she had the right to be. "Look, like I told you, he was here when I came in. And I don't know where his bow is."

Cathy squinted at Nicholas, trying to read the lie in his face, there was none. Cathy sighed and smirked. "What I'm I to do with him?" Cathy implored Nicholas.

"Let him be."

Cathy knew Nicholas was being as honest as he could ever be— blunt. Cathy decided against disagreeing with Nicholas since, _logically_ he was right. Cathy wheeled, and started for her class.


	10. Class

Class

Cathy's class was in the middle of the camp. The kids would sit on the grass, in rows of three. She would sit in front of them. She'd lecture them one day, about history. Another day it would be mathematics. And maybe another day, it'd be writing. All the kids from the camp would attend her class. She felt very proud of what she was doing— showing kids how the world works, so they'd obtain the ability to deal with anyone, whether it is a Templar or someone with fancy manners form Orlais.

"…and that's why the circle of magi was created. Any Questions?" Cathy asked peering amongst her students— which were six of them, including her son. Juli sat in the middle of the first row.

A girl, who looked older than Juli and was sitting next to him raised her hand. Her name was Doreen and she had a pixie cut. She was the daughter of one of the deceased hunters, Cathy pointed a finger at her.

"How come our keeper is not considered an Apostate mage when he is not at the chantry in the

Circle Of Magi?"

Good question, Cathy thought. It made sense that the girl was sitting next to Juli. She was just like him— curious, and hungry for information. "Well, it turns out that the Chantry will allow the _Dalish_ to have one mage per clan, since they know it is part of our values to keep elven magic somewhat alive."

The girl was satisfied by Cathy's answer, so she smiled and nodded, telling Cathy that she had understood. Cathy had been lecturing for quite sometime now, she knew the kids were hungry, it was noon already. She dispatched the class.

"That's it for today guys."

They all got up and left, except Juli who was waiting for Cathy.

"Mother, are you mad at me?"

Cathy had almost forgotten about Juli practicing archery. Cathy noticed that there was dread in his voice. Just a kid afraid of being in trouble. She softened her face for him, to let him know, no I'm not mad.

"No, honey, I'm just worried. I don't want to lose you too."

Juli understood the sincerity behind that statement. He nodded. Cathy extended a hand to her son, to help him get up.

"Come on, lets eat, I'm starving."

 _—_

Juli and Mother walked up to Tobias' tent, Uncle and Tobias were sitting around the fire that was cooking some kind of animal that was so well-cooked and dark that Juli couldn't recognize it. Juli and Mother sat down across the fire, facing them.

"Hello, fellas. " Mother said as she sat down.

"How are you Cathy?" said Tobias, as he quickly fixed his worried eyes on Juli. What he really meant was how Juli was doing.

"Hungry, actually."

Tobias grinned and looked behind him, drew two plates, and handed them to Juli and Mother. Mother grabbed two drumsticks, and placed one on each plate. She handed one of the plates to Juli. Juli and Mother started gnawing at their meals. "What is it?" Mother mumbled as she chewed on the delicious supper.

"Sheep, me and the boys hunted it a couple of months…" Tobias stopped as he looked at the face that Mother and Juli made— they'd lost someone just a couple of months ago. The silence lingered for what it seemed forever.

Tobias cleared his throat.

"I hear that you put a little school together, yes?"

Mother looked at Tobias for a second, realizing that he was trying to change the topic. Mother had just finished biting at her meat, she drank water from the canteen that was hanging form her neck, then she passed it to Juli, who was also finished. She wove her hands together, and let out a small grin.

"Yes, showing kids how the world works. I wouldn't call it a school, but thank you." Tobias smiled at Cathy, Juli noted. Juli liked Tobias, he always seemed friendly.


	11. Brethren

The next morning, as part of routine, Juli got up. Before Mother or anybody else on the camp woke, and snuck off to archery. The only thing that was not part of his routine was Uncle. When Juli got to the archery yard, Uncle was waiting for him. He was sitting on the ground with his back to the curtain of vines that Juli was peering from.

"Don't be afraid, come in Juli." Uncle said without turning or changing his cross-legged position. Juli stalked in, trying to figure out what is going here. What is uncle doing here?

Uncle got up and started walking towards the targets that were set up at the opposite end of the archery yard. Uncle intertwined his hands behind his back and started inspecting the targets.

"I see you don't miss."

Juli smiled at the compliment, "Never."

Uncle wheeled, and squinted his eyes. He was studying Juli. Uncle grinned, "We'd see about that."

Juli walked towards Uncle, and crouched, and reached in for the thicket that was behind the third target in the yard. Uncle looked at Juli quizzically— trying to figure out what his nephew was doing.

Juli pulled his hand out of the thicket— holding his quiver.

Uncle smiled, "Clever, just like your old man."

Uncle's reminder of Father almost made him sad, but he smiled. Did Uncle just implied that I'm as smart as Father was? Juli admired Father. I was glad that Uncle thought I was just like my "old man".

"You can come out now." Uncle said as he turned his head towards the curtain of Vines.

Juli turned his head as well. A girl taller than Juli stepped into the camp— with a pixie cut? Juli couldn't help it, but he'd known he had seen her before, though he couldn't figure _where_ exactly.

"Juli, Doreen. Doreen, Juli." Uncle said as he waved his right hand between Juli and Doreen.

Juli looked at Uncle with surprise— a girl archer?

"You may be a good archer, buddy, but she's better."

"What? _You_ can shoot?"

Juli said as he pointed at the girl.

Doreen put her hands on her hips, and replied— defensively.

"You think that only _boys_ can shoot? I'd have you know, that I'm a much more advanced archer than you. You have a looooooong way to go before getting to my level."

Juli felt embarrassed. He looked at Uncle who seemed to be…enjoying this?

Uncle noticed that Juli was more than embarrassed, he was stewing. Juli fixed his eyes on Doreen and his whole body became rigid— he was upset.

"Oh right, come on Juli, she's just teasing you boy."

Juli almost didn't hear Uncle, but when he did, he reluctantly nodded.

"And you two better get along, yes?" Uncle said as he looked at Juli and Doreen— waiting for them to agree to his terms. So now, they both reluctantly nodded to Uncle.

Uncle started walking back and forth about the green thicketed-wall behind the targets, but this time he wasn't inspecting— he was lecturing.

"From this day on, you two will train with me. Well, I should rather say Juli— Doreen knows my style. Today, you two become part of the same body. Today, you two become a unison of archers. Today, you two become siblings. That is the mentality that _every_ archer should have with his or her brethren."

Uncle reached in for the thicket, he smiled at Juli, and pulled out his black quiver and green bow. His quiver was carved with golden dragons. His bow was engraved with golden highlights. Uncle put on his black quiver, and swiftly wheeled and shot an arrow at the sky— a bird dropped to the ground.

Juli fixed his eyes on Uncle. He was shocked by what Uncle had done.

"Doreen, take the next one out." Uncle said as he took two steps back. Juli was baffled.

Doreen took two steps towards Uncle and, without having as much as a glance at the sky, she shot upwards— another bird fell to the ground. A colorful beauty of blue and white feathers, this was bugging Juli. Juli looked at Doreen and Uncle in awe.

Uncle noticed Juli's confusion.

"Don't worry Juli, you'll learn. Very good, Doreen, but a little faster next time."

Did he say "a little faster?" Juli suddenly felt that he wasn't as good as he thought himself to be. After a long moment of amazement, Juli spoke.

"How did you do that?"

Uncle grinned and padded Juli's head, "Don't worry kid, you'll learn that and much more."

Uncle walked back to the targets, and placed his quiver behind the thicket.

Juli wondered if they were not practicing today, "We are not training today?"

Uncle grinned, "Oh no, we are, but not with bows. Before you shoot birds out of the sky, you need to master your senses. See, Juli, you're a good archer. For crying out loud, you're _ten_. "

Uncle's grin faded, he wasn't grimacing, just serious.

"However, archery is more about than shooting arrows. Archery requires discipline, dedication, awareness of your surroundings, and,most importantly, it requires being deft with your senses. See, anyone can "never miss". All they need to do is take a bow and arrow, and start shooting everyday— like you did. " Uncle said as his extended his right arm, referring to the targets about.

"Sure, you don't miss. But when your enemy is hunting _you,_ it will require more than shooting. You'll have to make sure your _enemy_ misses." Uncle extended a hand to Juli. Juli handed him bow and quiver, and he placed them back on the thicket. Doreen did the same, Juli noted. This also told Juli that Uncle didn't have to tell Doreen much for her to understand Uncle— this also, annoyed Juli. Uncle sat on the ground, taking the cross-legged position Juli found him in. Doreen, unsurprisingly, did the same. Uncle gestured Juli to seat.

"This is will be the hardest thing for you to do as an archer, kid, staying calm, no matter what." Uncle said as Juli sat in the same position as Doreen and Uncle— cross-legged.

"Basically, relax. Don't relax too much that you're sleeping. Just relax enough that you're _aware_ of your surroundings. So, just close your eyes and relax. Understand? " Juli noticed that Uncle was being serious, he'd never seen Uncle this serious before. Juli nodded.

Juli closed his eyes, just like Uncle said, and relaxed.


	12. Doreen

For months, every morning, Juli trained with Doreen and Uncle, tirelessly. Uncle's training was easy at first— sit on your butt for a few weeks, and close your eyes. But then, things got harder rapidly. And on top of all this, Doreen, Juli noticed, wasn't making it any easier. Lately, Uncle had left them both training alone, he said that this was the best way to improve their "dynamic." This morning's exercise was reflexes. One of them will blindfold their eyes, and position oneself beside a target, and will try to catch the arrows before they hit the target. This morning, it was Juli's turn to be blindfolded, he'd missed the last arrow Doreen had shot.

"The only reason you're better than me is because you are bigger in size." Juli said as he sat down to rest, after a long morning of no school and lots of training.

Doreen sat down next to him, she smiled at him. Juli felt dwarfed by the girl, eve if she was only three four taller than him.

"You know, you're not so bad yourself. "

Juli was surprised. Did Doreen just complement me? Juli shook inside, he wasn't falling for this one— he thought Doreen was teasing him again.

"You're just saying that."

Doreen felt bad that she teased the boy so often, that he'd not take anything she said seriously.

"I mean it. I mean, Juli, you're _eleven._ I am _three_ years older than you _._ And you hadn't trained with Nick before." Doreen pointed a finger to her chest, "On top of all that, _I_ can barely keep up with you." Doreen hadn't meant for her words to come out as genuine as they had, but she was just being honest.

Juli blushed at the reassured compliment, but he now felt embarrassed he didn't take her seriously at first.

" I'm sorry. I know you mean it. I was just upset. I miss Father." The words took Doreen by surprise.

Doreen looked at the ground, it seemed that what Juli said triggered something in her. "I know how you feel." Doreen scratched at her left eye, she was trying to cover her tears. Her voice was now…weak.

"I miss mom and dad too." Now, it was Juli who was taken by surprise.

Juli looked at his partner sob. He understood how she felt— just like he did when he lost his own father. Juli tried to smile, trying to embrace what Mother said to him.

"You know, Mother says we must not blame ourselves. She says that those on the Fade are encouraging us to live. To live for yourself. To live for them."

Doreen looked at the eleven year old who was solacing her. How can this kid be so strong? Doreen wondered. Doreen nodded, dabbed her tears off, and got up. She extended a hand to Juli.

"Come on, let's eat."

Juli and Doreen walked towards the round of people that gathered sitting on the ground, near his tent— Mother, Uncle, and Tobias. Mother and Tobias were seating one side of the fire, facing were all eating something that Juli nor Doreen could recognize from canisters.

"You done?" asked Uncle, with a grin.

Juli noticed Doreen stiffened when Uncle asked— she respects Uncle.

"Yeah."

Doreen walked up to Uncle and sat next to him. Juli sat next to Mother.

For some reason Mother just started being ok with Juli practicing archery — as longest as he'll show up to school.

Mother looked at Juli, and smiled. Juli wondered why, was she proud of me for practicing archery? He'd been practicing for almost three years now, and he was only getting better. Juli couldn't tell.

"You want some?" Mother said as she showed Juli the inside of the canister. The blue sluggish filled half of the cylindrical canister.

"What is it?" Juli asked as he winced at Mother— he had the intuition that no good-tasting food will have this light-bluish color.

"It's Dragon Soup"

Juli was astonished by what Mother said. "Is that edible?"

"Yep, and its good for you."

Mother was lying again— protecting her beloved son from reality—as always.

Juli glanced at Doreen, who was just as confused as he was. Juli nodded to Mother. Mother grabbed the pot that was hanging atop the fire. Mother started pouring blue sluggish liquid into a canister. Juli snarled as Mother passed him the canister. He looked at Doreen, she shrugged, she hadn't eaten her Dragon soup either.

Juli looked at Mother, "No meat?"

Mother swayed her eyes towards Uncle, they both looked at each other imploringly, Juli noticed. She turned her gaze toward Juli. "No meat, honey."

No meat? something is up here, Juli thought. He looked at Doreen again with a straight face, who was still undecided whether she should eat her blue sluggish. Juli and Doreen nodded to one another, and they both gulped the "Dragon Soup".

Juli almost threw up— the liquid tasted like dried leafs mixed with water. Doreen and Juli looked at each other, both agreeing on the fact that this was the most disgusting soup they'd ever tasted.

"Now that that's over. How's he doing?"

Uncle asked Doreen as he cocked his head towards Juli.

Doreen looked at Juli, "Good."

Uncle turned his gaze toward Juli, and smiled, "How's she doing?"

Doreen was taken by surprise. She looked at Juli— hoping that Juli wouldn't give her a bad review. Juli noticed the plead in Doreen's eyes, he grinned, "Good."

Uncle nodded— reassuring that he was right— the best way for Juli and Doreen to get alone was to have them training by themselves.

Doreen got up, and glanced at Juli— beckoning him to come. After a moment, Juli got up and started after Doreen.

"Where are you going, honey?" Mother said as Juli wheeled about. Juli felt that he'd been caught doing something wrong. Even if he consciously knew he'd done nothing wrong. He wheeled to confront the three elders who looked at him quizzically.

"I'm gonna… wash myself." He lied.

Juli started for Dooren at a somewhat fast pace— striding. Juli caught a glimpse of Doreen's short brown hair, she was heading towards the river. Juli found Doreen sitting about the hill that led to the river. She was hugging her knees— curled up and looking at the long river that seemed to have no end. The wind was strong and the sun at its peak. Even though Doreen had short hair, it was long enough for the tips of her hair to flop on the wind— showing her true beauty. Juli stared at his partner— he felt weird. I'm I enjoying looking at her? Juli shook off the bizarre feeling, and walked up to Doreen and sat down next to her.

"When I lost Father, Nick took care of me." Doreen said as she seemed to be talking to the wind rather than Juli.

"He's a good person, you're lucky to have an uncle like him."

Juli nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Mother, Father, and Nick were friends. Best friends. When I was little, younger than you, they'll go hunting. Then on one of those hunting trips, only Nick came back."

Doreen didn't cry, Juli noted. However, her face became rigid— she was angry. Doreen turned her gaze toward Juli, her face was a combination of anger and anguish.

"I'm sorry." Said Juli.

Doreen looked at her friend— knowing that he was one of the few people that understood how she felt— and she was grateful for it. Doreen's eyes were now getting wet, and she fell into Juli's arms.

Juli was flustered by the gesture. He wrapped his hands around Doreen's shoulders, and lowered his head towards Doreen's—trying to comfort his dwarfing pained friend.


	13. Food

Juli and Doreen heard someone approaching the river from the camp— Juli felt the urge to let go of Doreen. They both turned their heads to see who it was. It was Uncle. Uncle was a bit huskier than Father, Juli noticed. He was more pale than Father. His beard wasn't as red as Father's— his was pitch black. He'd been growing it for the past couple of months. His beard ran almost from temple to temple, and it was so big and puffy that it almost looked fake. Uncle kneeled, placed his bow beside him, and started washing his face.

Doreen and Juli noticed that Uncle was getting ready to hunt. Doreen's tears were somehow gone and now she was more angry… and dreadful. She got up, clinched her fists, and walked up to Uncle— upset.

"Nick, where are you going?"

Doreen's tone was firm— the girl that was crying in Juli's arms was somehow gone. Uncle stopped washing his face for a moment, let out a small sigh, like he'd known this was coming. He stood— confronting the fourteen year old who wanted nothing but to protect him.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before sunset."

Doreen put her hands on her hips, and started tapping her foot on the soft green grass. Uncle noticed she wasn't believing him.

Uncle looked at Juli who'd stood behind Doreen, Uncle didn't want to talk in front of Juli. Uncle looked at the horizon— the sun was not longer at its peak but it was as bright as the day can be. He stared out at the wind— hesitant to talk in front of Juli. He decided Julli deserved to know.

"Look, I won't be long or far. Just have to hunt some meat. Unless, you want to starve?" Uncle said as he lifted an eye brow.

Doreen relaxed, and nodded. Uncle picked up his bow and wheeled.

"Wait." Juli said firmly.

Uncle stopped, and faced his beloved nephew— knowing what he was going to ask.

"What does that mean, 'you want to starve'." Juli asked Uncle as he fixed his eyes on his Uncle,looking for lies, even if Uncle was always honest with him.

Nicholas held his gaze towards his dearest nephew— he really didn't want to lie to Juli. Uncle lips became a solid line, he frowned— his honest face, Juli called it.

"Look, since the accident." Nicholas didn't want to say it— when Kurl died.

"People around the camp don't want to hunt anymore— they are scared. And we haven't hunted in moths."

Doreen looked at the only one in this world who could not only protect her, but that in her eyes was the closest to a parent. Doreen was not in awe, unlike Juli, she knew about this.

Juli felt betrayed— the one that was most sincere to him kept this form him. Juli stiffened.

"And you're going alone?" Juli said as he lifted an eye-brow.

Nicholas nodded— he felt that he was being scolded by two kids that not even their ages combined will add up to his.

"Besides," he shrugged, "somebody has to it, unless you want to keep eating leaf soup."

Juli didn't know what to say— Uncle had a point.

Doreen strode to Uncle, she picked up his bow and handed it to Uncle, "I'm coming with you."

"Fine. But if things go south, you return to the camp right away. Righto?"

Juli wanted to go, but he knew Uncle wouldn't let him, or Mother will scold him. Uncle looked at Juli— he noticed the dread in the kid's eyes— afraid of losing these two people.

"We'll be back by sunset, I promise." Uncle said as him and Doreen headed for the camp— to hunt.


	14. The Mage

"So when do you intend to tell Juli?"

Doreen blushed. What is he talking about?

"How do you mean?"

Nick made a sudden stop. He took a long breath. Doreen almost bumped into him. He turned his head to look at Doreen, he was very serious, Doreen noticed.

"About your… abilities."

Doreen lowered her eyes. A feeling of dread washed over her. Will he accept me? I mean… one of my kind murdered his Father. No. I'm not like other mages, Doreen thought to herself. Still, she wondered if this will get in the way of the relationship between her and Juli. Despite his age, he is the only one that I can solace with. He is the only person who understands what is it like to lose a parent. I've been practicing archery with him for years. Even if we haven't gone hunting, that's something, right?

Nicholas noticed the frustration that the teenage girl was going through. He wanted to help her. He wanted to make everything ok for her, but he couldn't. How could he? He didn't know what it felt like to find out that you can do magic. He didn't know what it was like to become something one despises. He walked up to his… he didn't know what Doreen was to him. He'd known her since she was born— she is the daughter of his deceased friends. He'd taken care of her since they passed away. And he did that with Honor. He'd do anything to comfort her on her dire plight.

"Sorry." Nick said as his face turned into a grim— feeling helpless.

Doreen turned her gaze towards Nicholas.

"I'm not saying you've to tell 'em right now. But you'll have to. Sooner or later."

Doreen snapped, she jutted her chin.

"What?" Nick asked— puzzle by Doreen's gesture.

Doreen reached behind her, and pointed her bow with arrow at the ready, towards Nick.

Out of instinct, Nick crouched.

 _fum_.

 _fum_.

"What the…" Before Nick said anything, he saw it.

Doreen shot two arrows— she hit two deers that were at the distance, behind Nick.

Nick got up, "A little warning next time will kill ya?"

Doreen almost ignored him, and she grinned, "I had to take the shot. Unless, you want to starve?"

Nick smirked, "Fair enough.'

Nick had to narrow his eyes to have a good look at the two beauties that laid on the ground. He was agape— surprised by his student.

"Good shot."

It was a hot day, even if it was almost sunset. The wind was hot— it was humid. The heat was taking a toll on Doreen, and she noticed it was taking a toll on Nick as well. He was sweaty, and his beard was not helping. The fact that they were dragging deers, almost as heavy as a human being was helping neither of them. Doreen suddenly stopped walking, Nick noticed and stopped as well.

Doreen glanced at Nick, "Please don't tell Juli."

Nick smiled, "You know, my Father used to say that only one can tell one's secret." He shrugged, ""Am not one to tell your secrets."

Doreen nodded— grateful for Nick. For understanding her predicament.

Just like Nick said, they were back by sunset. They brought two deers. Nick dragged a brown, husky beauty that, on the ground, looked twice his size. Doreen dragged a deer that was a bit more limber but about the same size as Uncle's deer. Doreen was sweaty. Her pale skin glistened on the sun, a couple of beads of sweat ran down her face. Juli was waiting for them at the entrance of the camp. Her brown hair looked sticky— sweat and dirt worked as a glue for her short hair to stick to her face. She looked tired, and dropped the deer to the ground, and just strode past Juli— to the river.

Doreen didn't want Juli to look at her— she was ashamed. Not ashamed for being dirty in front of him. Rather for being what she was— a mage. She went to the river, and took all of her clothes off. She felt the need to take a bath. It was almost dark so she felt ok with taking her clothes off.

The water was lukewarm, that's how hot the day had been. She washed her face, arms, and feet. It was almost dark— the sky had a orange contrast to it. She could see it reflecting on the water. She decided she was clean. Doreen walked out of the lake, put on her clothes. She sat on the hill that led to the river. It was soft and comforting. The star-filled sky provided her with some kind of escapism— from the reality that she was a mage. Why I'm I dwelling onto this so much? Doreen wondered. Omar was a mage and the tribe seemed to like him, right? That reminded her; what if they send her to another tribe?

Usually Dalish clans didn't have more than one mage. When the clan found out there were two mages, one mage will be sent to another clan. Doreen didn't know why that was. She thought that'll be a good question for Juli's mom. She lay there, under the stars. The sky already had that dark blue— it was late. She knew Nick will be concerned but she didn't want to look away from the sky. Somehow, the stars took her away from Ferelden, from Thedas— from the world.

She heard some bush rattle— someone was approaching the river.

"Doreen, is that you?"

A woman's voice— Catherine. Her black hair, was long and loose— just like her son's. Cathy looked at Doreen— puzzled.

Doreen sat up,"Yes, it's me."

"You ok?" asked Cathy, noticing the face of a troubled teenage girl.

Doreen looked at her, baffled. Does she know?

Doreen gave Cathy a quick nod, trying to hide her plight.

Cathy didn't look too convinced, Doreen noted. Cathy walked towards Doreen, and sat next to her. Cathy took Doreen's hands in hers. Doreen looked at Cathy in awe. Juli's Mother and her weren't exactly close. Cathy held her gaze with Doreen, "Listen, I know we aren't close. But you're close to Nick. He seems to be very fond of you. And anyone who is close to Nick is close to me," Cathy jutted her chin and grinned, "is it a boy?"

Doreen blushed, it wasn't a boy. But don't I like Juli? No. She shook the feeling off— before worrying about boys I need to deal with this mage stuff. Doreen slowly shook her head, holding her gaze with Cathy.

Cathy smiled, trying to comfort the troubled teenager. She sighed, "If you don't want to tell me that's fine. But you should talk to someone. Talking always helps."

Doreen nodded. Cathy let go of Doreen.

Doreen was grateful that Cathy wanted to help, but she didn't know if she should tell her. I mean… dammit this is hard, Doreen thought.

Cathy was about to get up, until Doreen grabbed her and embraced her in a hug.

"I'm a mage."

Cathy was startled. She pulled away from Doreen. Trying to take it all in, she tried to keep her calm. Cathy was in disbelief. She didn't know what to do. This girl was her son's best friend. This girl is the one that has helped Juli through his grief. No matter what, this girl was her people. This girl was a _Dalish._ Doreen glanced at Cathy, and lowered her head— she was ashamed. Cathy lifted Doreen's head by her chin, gently. Doreen's eyes were wet. Cathy smiled, "So what?" Cathy said as she shrugged.

Doreen was staggered by Cathy's reaction. I mean one of my kind murdered her husband. How can this woman have such kind heart?

"I thought you'd be mad. I mean Juli's father was…"

Cathy nodded quickly, telling Doreen that she didn't need to be reminded of that. Cathy brought Doreen in for a hug. Cathy felt the wetness of the tears that ran down Doreen's face. She was sobbing. Cathy brought out Doreen to meet her gaze. She was being solemn and kind, "I don't care what you are. But to me, you're a _Dalish._ " Cathy shook her head, "And _no one,_ will change that. So what if you're a mage? Heck that might help us one day."

Doreen almost laughed at the idea of she using magic to help her tribe.

Doreen nodded— reassuring Cathy that she understood. No matter what, her people will accept her.

 _—_

It was morning and Juli laid on his bed. He was awake and thoughtful. What was up with Doreen yesterday? After she and Uncle came back from hunting, she seemed… odd. Uncle said that it's girl stuff that I wouldn't understand. He decided he was dwelling too much into it. Doreen is fine, he thought to himself. Mother was still sleeping, on the bed that was across from his. Juli got up, Mother was having a class today, and he wanted to arrange as much time as he could to practice archery. Juli stepped out of his tent, and the camp was quiet as always. Everybody was still sleeping— it was early enough that crickets were still singing. Are they singing? Or are they talking to one another? After years of hearing that sound he still couldn't figure out why they made that sound. Still, Juli enjoyed the serene sound of early mornings. It gave him a sense of inner peace. For the most part of the day, people in the camp were either bantering or working on something. As Juli walked towards the river he noticed one of the tents lighting up. He could see it through the brown canopy. Red and purple colors came from Omar's tent. Something is wrong, Juli thought. Out of instinct, he ran towards the colored tent. As he opened the tent, he saw Doreen and Omar sitting next to one another. Doreen looked startled. Like she'd been caught doing something horribly wrong. Before Doreen said anything, Juli saw it: a blob of purple and green rotated as high as Doreen's chest. No. No no no no no no. This can't be. She's so nice. She's the girl that has taught me archery, well, and Uncle. But she's been there for me all these years. After Father passed away, I felt lonely. She's the one that has filled that void in my heart. Juli was lost in confusion. He just stared at Doreen with nothing but plead on his face— hoping that his _brethren_ wasn't a mage.

Doreen got up on one hand, she reached out with the other, "Juli, I can explain…"

Juli fled. He ran to the lake. He felt dizzy. So much to take in. What if she's related to the woman of my nightmare? Juli felt that was too much to assume. Still, he wondered. He wondered if one day she could just be possessed by a demon from the Fade. Just like the mage that killed Father was. He knelt at the hill that led to the river. He washed his face. As if the water will make everything ok. Juli was still in shock. The water did _not_ cleanse him this time. He still felt baffled. He didn't want to believe that _Doreen_ was a mage.

"Juli." A voice startled him from behind— Doreen.

Juli said nothing, he kept staring at the river.

"Juli, I can explain." Doreen carefully shifted towards Juli.

"I didn't know." Doreen's voice sounded more like a plead rather than an explanation. She was hoping Juli would accept this new part of her. A part of her that _she_ could barely condone.

Juli turned his face towards Doreen. Her pale skin glistened on the sun. She wasn't sweaty like the night before. There wasn't any gunk in her face. Her beautiful brown hair was dried. The tips of it barely passed her pointy and long ears. Once again, Juli felt that bizarre feeling. Once again, he shook the feeling off— she was a mage. He held his gaze towards Doreen, his face became rigid, "Can you be sure you won't be possessed by a demon?"

Doreen took a slow breath. She looked at Juli with sincerity, and shook her head. Juli wheeled back to look at the river. Doreen got the hint— she started for the camp. Juli felt an urge to go to the archery yard, to train. But he wouldn't know what to say to Doreen. He didn't know what to _think_ of Doreen. He didn't hate her, he couldn't. He just felt… frustrated by the whole thing. Juli felt tired, from all the thinking he assumed. He let himself fall to the ground. He fell asleep.

 _—_

Juli felt hazy. He was bouncing… somehow. I'm I on a horse? Yes, he was. Juli was riding a white beauty. The mount was covered in armor. So was he. Why I'm holding a sword, and why is it so dark? He was scared. Juli played along, he just kept on galloping throughout the dim landscape. On the distance, near a tree, he saw someone. He got closer… and then he saw it; A girl that was taller than him. Purple skin, blank eyes, short and brown hair. Doreen? Doreen, or whoever that was, was wearing a white gown. The gown seemed to be the only bright thing in the dark place. He dismounted the horse, and crept towards the girl that was just sitting with her back against the bank of the tree hugging her knees. Then he raised he sword and thrashed it through the girl's chest. Juli didn't know he'd stabbed her— he wasn't in control. Then, taking it all in, he dropped his sword, and stumbled backwards and sobbed. And the girl, who seemed as dead as ever, started laughing maniacally. As if the sword that peered out of her chest was nothing, she mocked him. The more he cried, the more the mage laughed— the nightmare was back. From all the sudden, everything was gone— the girl, the tree, sword and horse— vanished.

Juli sniffed. His nostrils were flaring — he could barely breath. The he saw it: Mother's face, Tobias, and Omar, were the foreground to the fire behind them. Mother was holding him gently, lifting his head just above the ground. Mother's pale face was coated with charcoal, "Juli, you ok?"

Juli's eyes widened— he had not clue of what was happening. His eyes flickered to Tobias, Omar, and then fixed them on Mother, "Mother? What happened?" Juli's voice was muffled, and he coughed a couple of times before Mother could speak.

Mother smiled, "Thank _Andraste,_ you're alive!"

Omar and Tobias looked relieved— they'd thought Juli was gone. Mother helped Juli get up, "I'll explain later. For now, we have to get out of here."

As Juli got on his feet he saw a herd of people— the whole camp. People looked scared, Juli noted. They all looked at Juli, no not at Juli, but at Omar. Their terrified faces gazed at Omar as if they believed he would make everything ok. I mean, can he? As far as Juli could tell, everything burned— the tents, the blacksmith tables, and even the archery yard. For Omar to make everything ok he'll have to pull off a miracle. Amid the crowd, Juli could see no more than three hunters with bow at the ready. Tobias, who was the best hunter present did not have his bow.


	15. The Sheep

The keeper was wearing white long robes, as always. He walked towards the people that saw him as their savior. He stood in front of them and all eyes turned towards him, "The camp has burned down." His tone was even, although his voice was loud enough that Juli assumed everybody heard him, "I know you're all scared, but please keep calm. In times like these, calm is our best weapon against the foe."

The few people, sixteen people counting Juli, of clan Velthrin were scared. However, now that their Keeper solaced them, they were _hopeful._ Omar walked towards the other side of the herd— Juli, Mother, and Tobias were on the rear. As sheep that follow a shepherd, the whole clan followed their keeper. Mother was walking on a limb, Tobias was half carrying her. Juli glared at Tobias, and then turned his gaze towards Mother, "Mother, what happened?"

Mother tried to smile, but the smile turned into a grim— her pain was severe.

"Don't worry Juli, I'll be fine."

Once again, a Mother protecting her child— from the hardships of the world. She'd burned half of her left foot while trying to pull Juli out of the camp. She found him laying on the ground. She found it rather bizarre for Juli to be sleeping so early in the morning. What she found even more strange was that he was sweating. She decided to think nothing of it— they had to get away from clan Velthrin, or what was left of it. This had been their home for so long. For the most part, they'd lived in peace. Templars never bothered them, nor did any other humans. In a world where elves were considered nothing but assassins or deceitful creatures, this was the best they were going to get. Now they'd have to step into that world. Now they have go and deal with humans. Creatures filled with pride that care for nothing more than their selfish motives.

Mother didn't answer the question, Juli noticed. He didn't dwell into it, he decided it wasn't the time. He nodded— telling Mother that he was willing to believe her lie, for now. Juli hadn't noticed, but the sun was at its peak. All of the smoke had almost turned the white clouds amid the blue sky to gray. They were walking through a clearing, their clan had been near the Exalted Plains. From what Juli could gather, they were going down hill. He glared at Tobias and Mother, "Where are we going?"

Tobias looked exhausted, however, Juli couldn't tell whether it was from carrying Mother. Whatever it was, he did not look like the rest of the camp. Even though the clan was devastated by the destruction of their home, they were hopeful. However, Tobias did not look hopeful. His face was rigid and serious. His eyes did not show a hopeful man, but rather, a determined one. Yes, he followed the shepherd, but he was not sheep. He seemed to be a lone wolf amongst the sheep. Without moving his eyes from forefront, he shrugged. This didn't look like like the Tobias Juli knew. It wasn't like Tobias was being mean to him, but he'd never seen the man like this before. It was like some life had been drained out of him. He just kept going behind the sheep, like a lone wolf watching his prey.

They walked for what seemed hours. Juli was sweaty— everybody was soaked in sweat. His feet hurt. Even if every part of his body cried to just sit, he knew others had it worse than him— he could see it on the mothers' faces who carried children. One of them carried a toddler. She was a hunter. Quiver and bow were hanging from her left shoulder, while she carried a baby against her right shoulder. Juli felt the urge to help her.

Tobias noticed his intention, "Help her." He cocked his head towards the woman. Tobias looked tired as well, but still, the man seemed as stoic as before.

Juli strode towards the woman, and readily started removing the woman's bow and quiver. The woman flinched, and Juli hadn't realized he was being rude.

He pulled his hands away, "Sorry, I was wondering if you needed any help."

The startled woman smiled. She nodded, then extended her left arm so Juli could take the quiver and bow, which were quite heavy, Juli noted.

The woman regarded Juli's struggle with her heavy gear, "I know it's heavy, you sure you can carry it? "

Juli nodded. Its not that her bow and quiver were heavy, but they were heavier than his own. My quiver, did it burn? Juli thought. Then the thought of archery triggered something in him. The woman noticed how startled Juli looked,

"You ok?" Her face winced in worry.

Juli nodded, and stopped— he seemed to be going through a trance. He waited for Tobias and Mother to catch up, and dread washed over him, "Where is Doreen and Uncle?"

Mother and Tobias looked at each other, Tobias' face somehow got even more serious, "We don't know what happened. Everything was so fast. One minute I was sleeping, and I heard screaming and yelling. People running around," he held his gaze at Juli, "We couldn't find Nicholas or Doreen anywhere. Maybe they escaped. I'm sorry Juli." That word, _escaped_ , gave Juli some hope. However, that hope was crushed when he remembered the dream he had. No, not the dream, the _nightmare._ What if that was a message form the Maker? Tobias might be right, but what if… what if she died on that fire. What if I had told her to stay at the lake, and she'd have told me all about her magical powers. And maybe Tobias and Mother would've saved them both. Cathy recognized Juli's expression— he had the same face when Kurl died. She knew right away that her son might be blaming himself for another death. Too much for a kid, Cathy thought. Only eleven and has already lost his Father. Now he doesn't know if he's Uncle and best friend are even alive. Cathy saw Juli's eyes— there were no tears. The fact that Juli didn't cry scared Cathy— he was bottling everything. Cathy was about to solace her son, but then she noticed that everybody stopped walking. The whole clan stopped as if by command. Then she heard Omar speak, "Let's camp here."

Everybody started settling inside a cave. The sky had that orange contrast to it— night was approaching about. The cave wasn't too big, but it was big enough for the clan to seat, even if they were within two inches of each other. Before Juli even noticed, someone started a fire, maybe one of the hunters, and they started cooking. People sat on a circle around the fire. Everyone looked at Omar as if he could make a whole new camp out of nothing. Omar could tell any of these people, Juli thought, that if they smashed their heads into the rocky walls of the camp, they'd live forever, they would do it. Juli didn't care what these people thought of the man, he wanted answers. He was the last one that was with Doreen. For all he knew, maybe Omar burned the camp. Still, Juli didn't want to jump to conclusions. Tobias was treating Mother's wounded foot. He was slowly pouring this transparent liquid onto the burn. Then he'd pad it gently with a white peace of cloth. Mother will wince every time the liquid met her skin, but then she smiled. Juli didn't know the name of the liquid but it seemed to make Mother's burn all the better. Mother and Tobias were holding a gaze, then he got up and walked towards the man with answers— The Keeper.


	16. The Bow

Omar had his legs crossed and was sitting near the fire. His staff laid on the ground next to him. The brown stick seemed to support a white ball. It had carvings on its thin body that Juli couldn't recognize. Some kind of mage language, maybe? He couldn't tell what the carvings meant. The man stared at the fire, he seemed mesmerized by it. Juli didn't care if the man was summoning a new camp— he needed to have a talk with this man. Juli casually walked towards the man and sat next to him. Omar did not seem surprised, but as soon as he saw Juli he knew.

Juli looked at the fire, he didn't want to get the attention of the others, "What happened to Doreen and Uncle?" He asked anxiously, almost whispering— he didn't want to create a commotion.

Omar saw the fear in Juli's eyes. A fear that manifested as a humble hope. Omar kept his calm, Juli noted. The zen mood of the man annoyed Juli. How could he be so calm after everything that has happened? Omar noticed the inquietude that transpired through the boy, he felt this situation was far too dire for him to waste time with a petulant boy, "If you're going to be petulant, don't bother."

Juli boiled inside. He's had enough of this arrogant know-it-all keeper, he thought. But wait. As much as I hate to admit it, in reality he's the only one that can pull us out of the pit. Hunters can face darkspawn, templars, and even, if such grim situation came upon, dragons. However, the only threat that hunters couldn't fend for was magic. And the only person who could fend for the clan was Omar— The Keeper Juli didn't like very much. He decided to swallow his grievances, and held his gaze towards the fire. Omar noticed the kid had learned, "Good," Omar's face became rigid, "When you found me and Doreen, I was teaching her a sleeping spell. That's why Catherine found you laying on the ground." That explains that, Juli thought. But still, the mage hadn't explained what had happened to Doreen. Omar frowned, "Then Doreen ran off after you. I don't know whether she's alive or not." The man looked sad, Juli noted. His hunched shoulders showed the sorrow the man was going through. Omar took a breath, "You know I'd been living on that camp for son long, I thought of it as my home. I thought our clan would finally be safe from those _human_ beasts. And then, out of nowhere it burns. For all I know, maybe it was templars whom burned the camp." Juli could tell that the mage was not very fond of humans. Let alone Templars. He said _humans_ with such hatred that Juli got goosebumps from the tone that he spoke with. For the first time, Juli felt some emotion reverberating from the man— The Keeper was sad. Omar offered Juli a piece of meat, the gesture took Juli by surprise— he hadn't realize how hungry he was.

Juli took the Juicy recently-cooked meal, without any hesitation, "Is there any for Mother and Tobias?"

The Keeper nodded. Omar drew two paper plates, Juli wondered how he produced them, and gave them to Juli. Each one of them had a drumstick. Juli nodded— thanking the man. Juli was surprised by the sincerity of this mage. Maybe _he_ is different than other mages. Juli felt a bit annoyed that Omar had been right— not _all_ mages are the same. Juli still wasn't sure if the man was telling him the truth. He could be lying about the last time he'd seen Doreen. Juli was so perplexed by the thought— he'd been unconscious for he didn't know how long. He shrugged off the feeling— feeding Mother was way more important than dwelling into his dubious opinion about Omar. He went back to Mother and Tobias. They were both sitting next to one another staring at the fire—there was nothing else to do. Mother flinched at Juli's appearance, she seemed to have forgotten she had a son, Juli noticed. Although they were on a cave and all they had was hope, Tobias looked different. It didn't look like life had been drained out of him anymore. He wasn't smiling, no one was, but certainly looked _less_ pained than before.

Mother grinned at seeing that Juli had brought food, "Will you look at that, only eleven and is already feeding the family." Mother said as she passed one of the plates to Tobias, who seemed very happy with the meal— they were both starving.

Juli sat there, holding his gaze towards the wide and dark exist of the cave. He stared out at the distance, wishing that Doreen and Uncle will just pop in. He waited and waited, but nothing happened. After some time, his eyes gave up on him. He'd been walking for hours, he didn't know if his Uncle and best friend were alive— his exhaustion was too much for an eleven year old. He laid there and slept.

 _—_

A beam of light awoke Juli. Now he was able to see the details of the cave. Gray rock, that's all he could see. However, Juli was surprised at the fertile ground of it. The cave's floor was flourishing with green. The grass was short and vivid. No one else was awake. His face felt heavy, and he walked outside of he cave. He looked to his right and left, and all he could see was a huge clearing with a couple of trees that seemed to go on forever. Their clan seemed to have been at the top of a hill because he could still see the downward slope the cave was on. The inclination was not as notorious as before, but was still visible. He wondered where Omar intended to take the clan. He didn't well into it, after last night, the mage seemed genuine. Besides, Juli thought, The Keeper cared about the clan, so he decided that wherever Omar will take them, it'll be safe.

"Beautiful, yes?"

Juli didn't have to turn to see who it was. Omar had a very thin voice, he was made fun of sometimes by some of the clan for being "too feminine."

Juli didn't answer, he was lost in the moment. This beautiful place, even if it was for just a second, seemed to take him away. Take him away from everything— the worrying about where they were going, the dread that he felt when he thought of Doreen and Uncle. After almost an awkward moment, he nodded. Omar was holding his brown staff, the stick looked like a regular old wooden stick. However, Juli knew better to know that the stick can do marvelous things that he probably could barely understand. The moment seemed to linger forever, until Juli spoke, "So, where are you taking us?"

Omar seemed to have not even heard Juli. The view of the horizon seemed to take him through a trance as well. Then, the mage turned his gaze towards Juli. He seemed to flicker his eyes to different directions while he stared at Juli— Omar was studying him. Omar pointed a long finger to the right, "That path will take us to another Dalish clan. I hope that they can assist us, whilst we settle elsewhere."

Juli stared out at the "path" that, from what he could gather, had nothing special but only more grass.

"Where is your bow? I saw you carrying some hunter gear yesterday, but I believe that wasn't yours, yes?"

Juli kept looking out at the distance, he didn't want to think of his bow. He just lowered his head as he got lost in thought. That bow was the thing that allowed him to channel his emotions. He'd had it since he was seven years old. It was given to him by Father. He always thought of the bow as a piece of Father. When he used it, he felt like Father was with him. Now that the bow was a forgotten piece of charred wood back at their burnt camp, he felt as if Father wasn't with him anymore. It was as if a part of Juli burnt with the bow, and he was not going to be able to get it back.

"Now, what color was your bow?"

Juli seemed to be perplexed by the question. He lifted a brow, and looked at the man with curiosity, "Red."

"Wha about your quiver?"

"Same." Juli was getting annoyed by this. What is his deal? Is he trying to remind me of how much I miss that bow? This Keeper is sick, Juli thought. One second he seems as genuine as ever, and the next he's talking with such nuance that is infuriating. Juli stew inside. He was willing to let go of his prudence, and was ready to let this mage have it once and for all. But before he could say anything, the white ball supported by the staff lit up. It was so bright that it almost blinded Juli. The mage seemed to be just staring at his white ball. It was like he wasn't here anymore. His eyes weren't blinking anymore. Juli was now scared. Is he being possessed by a demon? Juli almost shivered from fear. His mind told him to run, but he couldn't. The fear became shackles that wouldn't let him go.

"It's ok Juli. There's nothing to fear." Said the mage without blinking or looking away from the white ball that seemed brighter than the sun. Then, Omar extended out his right hand, and a green line of light started dancing above his palm. Juli squinted at the light, it started taking some shape. It'll bend and straighten in he weirdest of ways. After the light was becoming thicker Juli realized what it was. He was astonished by what he thought he was looking at. He looked around him; the sky was beautiful, the sun was bright, and Omar was not purple. So no, this was not a nightmare. He looked back at Omar's opened palm, and he was holding a red quiver and bow.

"Did it look like this?"

Juli was staggered by this. His eyes flickered between Omar and this bow…that looked _exactly_ like his old bow, which he assumed had burnt at the camp. Juli was amazed by what the mage had done, "Is that…" said Juli as he pointed a shaking finger at the red bow.

Omar nodded.

Juli couldn't contain himself— he was so happy at seeing his bow. He smiled, and stared at Omar, whom somehow had wielded his bow into existence.

Omar offered bow and quiver to Juli, "I noticed you didn't have a bow, and you're a good hunter. We need good hunters like you, kid."

Juli couldn't help it but blushed at the compliment, he nodded and took his bow. Juli still marveled at how similar it looked to his old bow. However, while this bow looked exactly like his old bow, this one _felt_ different.

"The bow looks like your old bow, yes, but make no mistake. This bow and quiver are connected to you. They answer to your call. They modify the arrows at your will."

At first, this sounded like nonsense to Juli. But then he realized that he indeed was feeling something after first coming in contact with the bow. After touching the bow, he felt something that traversed through his body and brain. Something that surged inside of him. Something, he felt, had been sleeping for a long time and was now finally awake.

Juli glared up at Omar, "Why are you doing this?" Juli asked intensely.

Omar rolled his eyes and let out a heavy breath, "You gotta learn to trust me kid. There's something great inside of you. Something you're not even aware of. There's a fire inside of you. I just gave you the match that you can ignite it with. Whether you want to use the match or not, that's entirely up to you."

Again, Juli could sense the sincerity with which the mage spoke. But he's a mage, isn't he? I mean, at this point, I don't even know what he is— I've not heard of any mages that can conjure objects into existence. Juli wanted to argue, but his bow didn't let him. Somehow, the bow told him that Omar was telling the truth. And somehow, he felt that he could trust the bow. And if the bow trusted Omar, then he would have to trust him as well.

Juli put on his gear. The quiver was filled with black shiny arrows. He walked back to the cave. He looked to see if Tobias or Mother were awake, and, to Juli's surprise, everyone was awake. People were mumbling. The mumble was loud enough that if someone stood outside of the cave, they could probably hear it. Juli noticed there was some hunting gear near where he'd slept. He'd forgotten— the hunter he had helped yesterday.

"Honey, where did you get that?"

Juli was almost startled by Mother, she was behind him. What do I tell her? That Omar just made it into existence? That's nuts, he thought. But what else I'm to tell her? He took a deep breath, "Er… The Keeper, he just made it appear." For sure, he thought, she'll think I'm crazy.

Mother looked at Juli quizzically, and twitched her mouth— she looked doubtful. After holding her gaze at Juli, she gave in, and sighed. She smiled at him with kindness, as always, "Just be careful honey, ok?"

Juli nodded readily. He noticed everybody getting ready to go. He picked up the bow and quiver that belonged to the mother carrying the child— his load was now heavy. He hoped that this clan Omar spoke of was close— He didn't think he would be able to carry so much for a whole day.

Once again, they walked and beads of sweat covered every single face— the children, the adults, and most of all the mothers. Juli wondered where did these women get their ferocity from— they relentlessly carried their children, even though some of them were old enough to walk. Juli assumed that they just couldn't walk anymore. They had been walking for hours and, for a four year old, that must be unbearable. They carried them, and didn't complain, not even once. Eventually, they came to a stop. Juli couldn't see if they had arrived at the camp, he was at the rear with Mother and Tobias. He walked forward, through the crowd— to Omar. Then he was filled with Joy— there were tents, black smith stables, and even a couple of hallas.


	17. A New Camp

Omar walked around the camp, looking for its inhabitants, but he found none. People noticed how Omar became anxious as he looked into every tent, but still no luck. The mage walked back to their people, he grinned, "As you can see there are no people in this camp." Omar said as he extended his arms, gesturing that the clan looked at the deserted camp, "Nonetheless, that just means that this is a gift from Andraste."

People murmured, and most of them nodded. The sheep had not choice but to follow their shepherd. However, the bow told Juli that Omar was lying— the mage was afraid. Juli didn't pay mind to it— he knew that Omar was just trying to avoid panic amongst clan Velthrin.

Everybody walked slowly towards the uninhabited camp. While they believed Omar, Juli could still see the feeling in everyone's face that he felt himself— dreading and wondering what had happened to the people that lived on this camp. There were fewer tents in this camp— it had nine tents made of some white canvas Juli couldn't recognize. Mother walked into a tent and Juli followed. Tobias went to some other tent that was next to theirs.

Mother looked around the tent— it had two cots, and a wooden table. Mother wheeled to look at Juli, her face all mirth, "I guess this is our tent."

Juli nodded. He was almost surprised at how happy mother was. It was almost sunset, the white canopy of the tent was turned almost to orange by the sun. Juli sat on the cot that was across from Mother's. He sat there thinking— is Doreen and Uncle alive? If they are, I sure hope that no menace comes upon their path.


	18. Shannon

Cathy noticed her son was lost in thought. She knew. She'd noticed the day before that her son was once again blaming himself for the people he'd lost. She turned her gaze towards Juli, her tone firm and even, "Juli, we don't know if they're alive or dead." Cathy hadn't meant for her words to come out as harsh and honest.

Juli didn't seem to have heard Cathy— he was lost in his thoughts. Cathy scooted over to Juli's cot and sat next to him. Cathy hadn't realized that sometimes she forgets that Juli is only _eleven._ She softened her face, and took Juli's hand in hers, "I know how you feel honey. You want to burst out of the camp and rescue them. I do too. But Nick is smart, and he won't he let anything happen to Doreen."

Juli turned his head towards Cathy, and nodded. Cathy couldn't tell whether she was doing the right thing. On one hand, she wanted to do anything to help her son endure what he was feeling— anger, frustration, and most of all helplessness. On the other, she herself, didn't even know if Nick was even alive. She didn't see him at all as she and Tobias carried Juli out of the burning camp.

"Mother, I have to return her gear." Juli said as he cocked his head towards the black bow and quiver that laid on the green ground of the tent. Cathy nodded. Juli got up and left carrying his red bow on his right hand and the black bow on the left.

 _—_

Juli almost felt better after Mother solaced him. He knew Mother felt weak and helpless, just like he did— his bow told him so. Juli walked towards the tent that the woman had walked into, it was the second tent after his. Juli tapped his finger on the roof of the tent— it was the clan's way of knocking. The head of the woman peered out of the tent, and she smiled, "Come in."

Juli crouched and entered the tent. It was just like his— two cots made of vines and wood, and a wooden table. She sat on the cot that was on the right side of the tent. Juli sat on the one that was to the left. Juli noticed she had her baby somehow attached to her chest wrapped in some kind of white cloth— she was feeding it. She looked at Juli quizzically. Her eyes seem to study every corner of Juli, and then she squinted her eyes at him, "Are you Kurl's son?"

Juli's eyes widened in surprise. Did she know Father? Once again, his bow told him that this woman was being genuine. Juli nodded. However, the mention of Father triggered something in him. It took him back to the days of hunting with Father. Juli smiled, as he drowned in those wonderful memories of Father. Juli noticed that the woman stared at him, and lifted an eyebrow— wondering what happened to Juli whom was physically present, but mentally gone.

The woman adjusted her baby, and gave Juli a mischievous grin, "He was a great hunter. I went hunting with him once," her eyes were staring at the roof of the tent, it was as if the orange contrast of it took her to another planet, "and I remember him being so concerned for me because it was the first time that I had gone hunting." The woman seemed to snap out of the memory, and gazed nostalgically at Juli, "He was a good man."

Juli didn't know how, but he seemed to feel fond of this woman. Juli realized he had not given her the bow. He held up the black bow so the woman could see it, "Almost forgot to return it." he placed bow and quiver beside him on the cot.

The woman seemed to pay no heed to her bow, "I hear you're a good hunter, yes?"

Juli was taken aback by the question, "That's what some people say."

The woman chuckled, "Modest, just like your father."

Juli grinned, and got up, "I must go, Mother is probably waiting for me."

"'What's your name?" the woman asked as Juli started walking out of the tent.

Juli stopped, and wheeled to look at the woman. He hadn't realized it before, but this woman looked younger than Mother. Her hair was black and long. Her face was thinner than Mother's, and her skin tanner. In fact, her skin was so tanned that it didn't stand out in the orange light of the sun. Unlike his skin, which was almost as pale as the white canopy of the tent. She extended out a hand, "I'm Shannon."

Juli extended his hand as well, " I'm.. Juli."

Shannon raised a finger against her left temple, and released it— making a gesture of exasperation, "Where are my manners, thank you."

Juli nodded and walked out of the tent.


	19. Theresa

"Someone needs to be on watch tonight." Omar announced. Everyone form the clan was here. The Keeper asked of everyone to come— they were safe for now, but they needed to make sure that whoever burned the camp was not coming back.

Mother, Tobias and Juli were sitting across Omar. The only thing that divided them was a fire that people built to keep warm. The night wasn't freezing, but it had a subtle chill to it. Juli heard people muttering, nobody seemed to abide the idea of staying vulnerable to whatever destroyed their home. After the mumbling of the people was over, silence lingered for what seemed an eternity… until Tobias spoke, "I'll do it."

All eyes turned to him with praise, except Mother's. Mother's eyes were all dread, "Tobias, are you sure—"

Tobias spoke in a low voice so only Mother could hear him, "Omar is right. If whatever burned the camp comes back, someone needs to be vigil to alert the camp of any threats that may come about."

Mother lowered her head, her face expressed nothing but gloominess. Juli was bewildered by Mother's reaction to Tobias volunteering. Juli didn't expect her to be happy, but Mother seemed almost just as sad as when Father passed away. Wait. Is he and Mother… no, that's ridiculous. Is it?

Tobias took Mother's chin in his hand, "I'll be ok, I promise."

"Don't worry Cathy, he'll be fine." A husky voice came out from amongst the people that rounded Omar. Then woman came from behind— half of her face was tattooed. Juli couldn't exactly see the details of the drawing as he saw what was only lit by the fire. The woman wasn't as slim Shannon. If anything, this woman's body was wide and tall. If one looked only at her back, one could not discern her from man or woman— her body was firm.

Mother snapped, brusquely turning her head to see who had spoken. She winced as she narrowed her eyes, "Pardon me, who are you?"

Juli noticed that the woman had a black quiver and bow. The bow had carvings of Dragon in it, just like Uncle's. Then she softened her voice, but still her face was sturdy, "I am hunter Theresa. I was a friend of Kurl. I owe him a lot. Please let me pay him by helping Tobias"

Mother looked back at Tobias. There was dread on her eyes, but now they had something else… relief that Tobias would not be alone on the dark. They held a gaze that seemed to have sent them to another planet. Mother slowly nodded. Then she shot Omar a glare of contempt— she resented the mage for coming up with the idea of having someone on watch.

The whole clan had supper, then they went to bed— except for Tobias who stayed on the outskirts of the camp "on watch".

 _—_

It was dim, and serene. There was a casual gust of wind that rattled the bushes and trees, but the hiss didn't make the night any less grim. If it weren't for the fact that he had company, Tobias would had been horrified. He had known the woman was a hunter, but he didn't know her well enough to know what she "owed" to Kurl. He hung his head as he sat on a fallen log and thought about his deceased friend. Kurl, old friend, why did you have to leave us?

"You ok?" The woman asked Tobias, despite being dark, she could see the hazy sketch of the man's hanging head lost in thought.

Tobias was still amazed by the husky voice of the woman, just her voice and assertiveness told him that this was not woman one would want to mess with. He lifted his head and glared at Theresa, despite her rigid face, he noticed she was actually worried. He grinned, although he couldn't tell if she could see his face, it was that dark, "Just thinking about Kurl. You know, when I lost my kid, he was the one that helped me overcome my grief. Were it not for him, I would have never get passed it."

Tobias couldn't see how she reacted to his confession, but the silence told him that she understood. However, he could see enough to noticed her nod, "He does that." Her muscular voice was replaced by one that was coated with nothing but rejoice. She let out half a laugh, "When I was younger…" Tobias again couldn't figure why she stopped talking, but he assumed that her nostalgia was great enough to be a hurdle on her speech, "I had not home. I grew up in a small town where, like anywhere in Thedas, an elven woman is treated like an animal. I lived on the streets, so I would have to steal to survive. Then one day, the king of Orlais ordered a sweep of all elves. So I fled. Yet it was not enough for those _animals._ " Her voice again flat, "They started a manhunt just for me, one elf. As I ran away from them through the woods that night, I came upon a group of hunters from clan Velthrin. The group was led by Kurl. He brought me in, clothed and fed me. Despite Omar's resistance of bringing a fugitive into clan Velthrin, he disregarded the Keeper's order, and took full responsibility for me. He taught me archery. He showed me that stealing wasn't necessary to survive. He gave me direction in life. I owe the man my life. But now he's gone."

Tobias was taken aback by this. He didn't know any of this. He assumed this must have happened before he met Kurl— his friend had been part of clan Velthrin since he was a kid. Tobias, on the other hand, had joined the clan when he was a full-grown adult at the age of twenty eight. He was about to solace the woman, but his ears caught something that caused his speech to halt. He heard footsteps. He grabbed his bow and stood up. He could sense that Theresa heard it too, he could see her foggy body standing up with her bow at the ready.

He could hear the footsteps getting louder, and more consistent. Whatever or whoever it was, was coming fast and toward them. Then, the sound of the footsteps was gone. Complete silence came back to the grim night. Now Tobias was filled with even more dread, was it hiding? Was it waiting for them to turn their backs to attack them? They both stood vigil, darting their eyes about the dark vastness of it all. Then he felt the heavy breathing of something behind them; his eyes could make something that laid on the ground, but he was too afraid to crouch and find out what it was.

"It's a man, and it's alive." Said Theresa. She was crouching next to the body.

"Maker's breath! A man? What could a man be doing in these grounds?"

Tobias assumed she shrugged.

" What shall we do with him?" Theresa asked. Tobias admired the relaxed tone of the woman— if she was afraid her voice didn't show it.

"Let's tie him up until morning. The keeper will know what to do with him."

Tobias heard something rip, he assumed that Theresa ripped part of her clothes to tie up the man as he saw her body hovering above the man. Despite finding the man, they weren't certain whether it was the man's footsteps they'd heard moments before. The night seemed to last a lifetime as they peered at every dark nook and cranny that was about. Despite their dread, no harm or threat came upon them. The night stayed serene and tranquil, as it had been before.


	20. The Human

Juli stared at the white canopy as he woke. However, from the inside the roof of the tent looked orange as the early sun permeated it. He noticed that Mother was not in her cot. Where was she? He sat up on his cot, and his muscles felt hefty. They didn't ache, but he definitely felt relief having rested after all of the walking he'd done the day before. He stepped out of the tent, and he noticed Tobias and Mother just outside of it. Tobias looked tired. They were hugging— so it's official he assumed. It didn't bother Juli that Tobias and Mother were together, after all, Tobias had always been nice to him and Mother.

Cathy pulled away from Tobias as she noticed Juli coming out of the tent, "You're up." Those words came out of her as if she didn't want Juli to be awake. As if she didn't want Juli to see the human that the Keeper had been interrogating the whole morning. Tobias pulled two apples from the pouch he wore, and he offered them to Juli and Mother , "Here, you two could use something to eat. " Juli took the apple gracefully.

Despite the fact that the sun was young, everybody was awake. Everyone from the camp seemed to have formed some kind of circle. Juli was puzzled. The clan would only be huddled in a circle if there was some sort of dispute, like last night. Tobias noticed Juli was staring at the group of people behind him. He glanced at Cathy, asking if he could tell Juli about the human as if there was a reason to hide it from him. She nodded. Tobias glared at Juli, and then turned his towards the people that surrounded Omar, "We found a human last night. Omar is interrogating him right now."

A human? Juli had never seen one before. He'd heard stories form Mother; how terrible humans treated elves in the cities. How the chantry gave Templars consent to do whatever was necessary to "establish order", which usually meant incarcerating elves since the poor souls would have to steal to survive. Juli was intrigued to see the human, but at the same time he was afraid. He dreaded that everything he'd heard about humans might be true. What if they were really merciless, and prideful beasts as Mother had said? Well, he about to find out. Mother, him and Tobias walked towards the people that circled Omar. He couldn't quite see what was going on through the crowd, although he'd caught glances of someone that he didn't recognize. He walked inside the circle to have a better look at the human. The man looked Tobias' age. However, he was bald. His face had not facial hair like Tobias' or Uncle's. The man's skin was darker than anyone's in the camp. He didn't wear any kind of armor, so not a Templar. The clothes were not regal in any way. If anything, his clothes seemed ragged and dull. The man wore brown trousers and a long tunic. A merchant? A commoner maybe? Juli couldn't really tell what the human was and he felt curious to find out. Omar stood in front of the man, with his hands behind his back. Three hunters flanked the human, two man and one woman stood side by side behind the human. The woman he recognized, it was Theresa. He didn't notice it the night before, but her skin was just an extension of the sun's orange hue— she was just as tanned as Shannon. Although he did remember her half tattooed face— hard as steel. Despite the fact that he could see her tattoo clearly, he still couldn't recognize the drawing. It looked like intricate circles that overlapped each other. The other two he'd seen before around, but didn't know very well. The man to her left was blond and young. His face was thin like Shannon's. However, his skin wasn't as tanned as hers. if anything, it was paler than Juli's. The other man looked older and huskier. He bared a beard, and daggers tucked in his back. Juli noticed that the human's face was coated in blood, he also looked mortified. The plead towards Omar was clear in those eyes.

"Why should we trust you human?" Said Omar, with a voice loud enough that the whole clan could hear him.

The human was constrained to a chair, and his beady eyes gazed at Omar— imploring him.

"I told you the truth. I was chased by darkspawn, and the next thing I know, I wake up in this camp." The man said evenly.

Did he say darkspawn? Juli shuddered inside. He'd heard stories of such creatures. Mother had told him how the wicked creatures corrupted everything they touched. He'd heard of The Blight; an attempt by the darkspawn to annihilate humanity and bring back their "Old Gods." But weren't darkspawn supposed to live underground in the Deep Roads? If this man is telling the truth, then does that mean that a Blight may be upon us?

Juli saw it now, everybody in the clan was filled with dread. Omar, from what he saw, seemed to manage to keep his calm. He didn't need his bow to know that Omar was just trying to hide his fear, every person in Thedas feared the darkspawn. Omar studied the man, gazed at him with intensity. "Very well." The Keeper nodded towards the hunters that stood behind the human. Theresa started to untie the man. The human fixed his look on Omar, "You can't let me go, there's darkspwn out there!"

Omar sighed, "There hasn't been a Blight in ages, are you sure it was darkspawn what you saw?"

The human leapt up to his feet, the hunters attempted to restrain the man, but Omar held up a hand telling them not to worry, "Look, I'm a blacksmith, I can craft weapons for you if you like. But please," the man extended his arm towards the exit of the camp, and tears filled his eyes, "I don't want to go out there. I don't know if it was darkspawn, but whatever it was, it took away my family from me!"

Suddenly all eyes looked at the man with empathy, everybody could see the man's frustration. Omar was taken aback by the confession. He brought both of his hands forth and suddenly his wooden staff appeared on his right hand. The mage refocused his attention towards the human. An aura of red covered the wooden stick. Juli had not clue of what the mage could be doing.

"I believe you, Patrick."

Everyone looked at The Keeper with awe, including the human. Patrick was agape, "How did you know my name?"

The mage's face was serious, "You may stay." Omar cocked his head, beckoning the husky hunter that carried the daggers. The mage and this hunter seemed to know each other well, Juli noted. As on cue, the husky man responded readily to The Keeper's calling, and walked towards the mage. Omar's staff vanished, seriously that mage is starting to freak me out, Juli thought to himself. Omar turned his head towards Patrick and extended an arm towards the old hunter, "Patrick, this is Lou, our blacksmith, you can say. I think you two can learn a lot from each other."

Patrick looked at Omar with wonder. He seemed to have accepted Omar's offer. However, Lou looked at Omar incredulously, "Are you serious?"

Omar's fragile and thin face, somehow, became sturdy. He gazed at Lou with nothing but supplication. Lou reluctantly nodded. He gave Patrick a dubious look, and tilted his head away from the human. The human followed him, and they went off "to learn a lot from each other."

People murmured, nobody liked the idea of having a human in the clan. The three mothers, Shannon being the only hunter amongst them, clung their children tight to their chests. As a parent, it must had been horrifying knowing that creatures as vile and dangerous as the darkspawn were roaming about and that one's child was defenseless against them. The babies could not had been more than four or three years old as they were as their height did go further than Juli's waist, innocent creatures that didn't deserve to be in of this type of danger. One of them, Juli hadn't realized, wasn't a toddler anymore. The girl had to be at least four. Her scared face was buried in the baggy trousers of her mother. Her skin was a copper-lie color that was between between the human's utter black and Shannon's orange sun-like hue. Her hair was like Doreen's—brown and short. The kid had lost her father in the same hunting trek Juli had lost his. Juli didn't know which was worse, being old enough to have some memories of a deceased parent or being too young to even remember what they were like.

"ARE YOU MAD!" A man yelled at Omar. The man had a white beard. The man seemed to come out of nowhere, as he stood tall in front of the mage.

Omar didn't seem to be surprised, he sighed, "No, are you?"

Juli almost laughed, the cynicism in Omar's voice was too much to not laugh, he thought.

"Only a crazed person would trust a human." The white bearded man faced the audience spectating the quarrel, and opened up his arms, "Or has any of you forgotten how humans treat elves? "

There were murmurs and nods amidst the crowd.

Omar was still calm, and took two steps forth, "No has forgotten. _I_ haven't forgotten _._ " Omar glared at the man not with rage, but pity. Then he turned his attention back to the clan, "But you know what else I have not forgotten?" His voice loud enough so everyone of us can hear him clearly,"Darkspawn." It was as if the word silenced everyone. Even the old man was speechless. Omar pointed a long finger in the direction where Lou and Patrick had gone, "Now, that man survived the darkspawn. He lost his _family_ to those vile creatures _._ If you think humans are bad, then wait until you see how wicked darkspawn are. Humans push us out of cities, sure, but darkspawn won't give you a chance to live. They'll come here and kill everyone of us, if that is their will. That _human,_ is the only one that can help us decipher what's going on. Because in case you didn't notice, a lot of strange things have happened."

Everybody lowered their heads. "Strange things," that was clearly a reminder of the fact that they had no idea who or what burnt the camp. A reminder of the fact that they found an empty camp with no people inhabiting it. Juli surmised that maybe darkspawn burnt the camp, but for all he knew maybe this man was just mad and was lying about the darkspawn. Omar looked upset. For all the tranquility that seemed to surround the man, it was only fair to see him like this at least once, Juli thought. The mage wheeled, and headed in the direction that Patrick and Lou went.

Juli noticed he still held the apple Tobias gave him. All of this was so overwhelming that he'd forgotten how hungry he was. He took a big bite of the juicy fruit. He didn't know if it was because he was hungry, but it tasted like the best apple in the world. It was ripe and sweet. After finishing the apple, he decided to go down to the lake. He'd asked Mother for permission, and she would not have let him go save for Omar who convinced her that it was safe for Juli to go. I'm I becoming fond of the mage? Juli shrugged off the feeling. It didn't matter whether he liked Omar or not, the truth is that The Keeper was doing so much to ensure the safety and survival of the camp, that it was impossible to not feel something for him. And besides, Juli thought, he produced me a new bow. Despite its weird magical features, he really liked it. He decided that it really had to be magic, and not him going crazy, when he went to get the bow before going to the lake. He didn't have to pick it up from the ground, it just "flew" to his hand. He every time he touched the bow, his muscles felt flexed. His body felt lighter. His sight seemed strange. Everything he saw, while he possessed the bow, appeared smaller. He didn't know how, but the bow gave him this feeling of agility he'd never felt before. It was like his senses were magnified by the the wooden arc. Was it made of wood? Juli couldn't really tell.


	21. Fire

The lake didn't look much like the one at the previous camp. This one did not have a downhill leading to the it, and was leveled with the ground. He knelt to wash his face. He cupped some water into his hands, and splashed his face with the water that felt like it was full of life itself. The water was cool and clean. Even if it was for just a second, the water seemed to have emptied his mind. It made him forget about Uncle and Doreen. It made him forget that what was his home for as long as he could remember was burnt to the ground by darkspawn. He almost forgot about the wicked animals. Or possessed humans? He didn't know what to think of the darkspawn, really. All he'd heard from the creatures was that they were hideous looking, and that they corrupted everything they touched. Then as Juli slid his hands down his face, dread consumed him. Will the water be defiled, if such creatures appeared about? The thought made Juli shiver.

"Aren't you a little young to be a hunter, kid?" A voice from behind startled him.

With bow at the ready, he wheeled.

"Woah! Come down kid, didn't mean to scare you." The human said with his open palms in front of him. Juli didn't want to trust the human, but his bow told him that Patrick was not menace.

Even though his bow told him this man presented not threat, he narrowed his eyes at him, "I'm not falling for your tricks human." Juli said in a warning voice, as he pointed the bow at the man.

The man was agape, Juli noticed. He realized that this man really meant no harm, he wasn't even armed. Juli lowered his bow and wheeled— ashamed by his demeanor.

Patrick walked towards him, and he knelt to wash his face. Juli stared in amazement, based on what he'd heard, he didn't think humans needed to wash their faces, just like he needed to wash his.

"You ok kid?" The man asked Juli as he snarled.

Juli snapped and lowered his head, trying to hide the curiosity he felt for the creature, he nodded.

The man's beady eyes seemed to study Juli, "Look," the man said as he stood, "I don't know how you elves do it out here, but if you really are a hunter, you could use better armor."

Is he talking about my clothes? He looked at his black trousers and tunic. He gazed at the man, and again his bow told him that Patrick meant no harm, "What's with wrong with my clothes?" Juli hadn't meant for his voice to come as a whine.

"Nothing, but if you're gonna fight darkspawn, you're gonna need better clothes than that, yes?" Patrick said as he arched an eyebrow.

Before he could answer, something tingled at his arm. Then, somehow, the bow told him that something was approaching him. He spun around, as if on instinct, drew one arrow from his quiver. He felt a blaze ignite inside of him. Without him being conscious of it, the arrow he pointed towards the man caught on fire. Somehow, the flames didn't burn the hand which pulled the arrow back on the string. It was as if Juli was being controlled by the bow. He released the glowing stick with great force.

He gawked in utter surprise, "I didn't mean to do it, I promise!" He said as he looked at the human with plead. Patrick was agape as well. Then Juli dropped his bow to the ground, "That bow is cursed!" He said as he stumbled away from it.

Patrick noticed Juli's breakdown,"Hey," the man said as he tried to solaced Juli by gently putting a hand on his shoulder, "you did good kid."

Is this human mad? I just killed a man. I guess humans are merciless creatures after all. Juli winced, manifesting his disgust for the complement, "I killed that man!" Juli screamed as tears ran down his face.

The human shook Juli, "Hey! that wasn't a man!" Patrick hadn't meant to shake Juli so hard, but he didn't want to traumatize this kid, because, really, he hadn't done anything wrong. If anything, the kid had saved his life, and possibly everyone's in this camp.

Juli looked at the man quizzically. What is he talking about? Juli wasn't gonna fall for any tricks, he grabbed his bow and pointed it at the man, "GET AWAY FROM ME DEMON!" He wailed at the human.

"Juli, he's not a demon." Tobias placed a hand on his shoulder.

Juli lowered his bow, and spun, "I didn't mean to kill the man, I swear!"

"Juli that wasn't a man."

Has everyone gone mad? Tobias said the same thing the human did. However, he could see the honesty in Tobias' eyes.

"That was a darkspawn."

Juli was now truly bewildered by the whole thing. Nevertheless, he took a good look at the corpse. Even though it had been burned by his arrow, after studying it, it didn't look very human to him. He looked at Patrick and then at the corpse. As oppose to Patrick, the burning corpse had black marks. It didn't have fingers…it had talons. The face was utterly black. Not like Patrick's, but rather a blackness that was unnatural. The creature was so stained with black, that there little was distinction between _it_ and the charred arrow that peered out of its chest. And, Juli noticed, it had no lips. It bared its sharp teeth and fangs at all times. This thing was… terrifying.

Juli didn't know how to react. He'd shot this creature. Was that ok because it was a darkspawn? No, the bow shot the arrow. As if the bow told him to shoot, he just trusted the bow and shot.

"Juli is ok. You saved this man's life." Tobias said as he gazed at Juli with nothing but empathy.

Juli nodded. He stared at the bow. He didn't know what to think of it. Was it a curse? A blessing? Was it some magic experiment by Omar? The mage had told him that he'd given him the match to ignite some fire inside of him. He truly didn't know what the mage meant by the that, however, he was about to find out. He grabbed the bow and walked back to the camp. He noticed that the tents and the schema of the camp were visible from the river. But yet, the walk to the river was not a short one. And the vastness and openness that was between the river and the camp made it look like a lengthy walk. To his right and left, all he saw was plain and green grounds. He wondered what was beyond the plain grass. Was it trees? Cities? Maybe more darkspawn? His questions made him shiver inside. If he had to see more of the horrifying creatures, he might puke, he thought. When he got to the camp, Omar seemed to be talking to Lou as the dagger hunter worked on his table, of course, Juli thought. The bow told Juli to be nice to Omar, as if it felt how livid Juli was at the mage. Juli shut off the connection with the bow, he hadn't know he could do that. He clenched his fists tight, as he approached the mage. He straightened his posture, "Omar, can I speak to you. In _private_?" Lou scowled at Juli. Juli surmised that the man didn't expect an eleven year old to speak with such an aggressive tone to The Keeper. Before Lou could scold the boy, Omar put up a hand, "Of course."

Omar walked with Juli to his tent. The mage looked at him with curiosity, as if he was eager to know what Juli had to say.

Juli took off the bow and quiver, "Take this curse back, I don't want it."

Omar seemed to be staggered by this. He pay no heed to the bow, he stared at Juli with intensity, "What happened?"

Juli looked away from the mage. The experience was not a pleasant one. For a moment he thought that he'd killed a person. But were darkspawn people? I mean elves are not technically human, and still have feelings. Did the darkspawn have family? Juli had the feeling that that was a silly thought but still he couldn't help to wonder. Juli noticed that Omar was waiting for an answer, he gathered himself, "I was at the river and out of nowhere a darkspawn showed up." he fixed his eyes on the mage, "I know this is going to sound crazy," Omar nodded as if he was telling Juli that he was ok with crazy, " but the bow told me that there was some threat about and I shot an arrow covered with fire at it! A fired arrow!"

Omar's eyes widened, in utter surprise. He put his hands behind his back— despite all of this, the mage was still calm. He gazed at Juli with nothing but absolute empathy. The mage walked towards Juli, and put a hand on his shoulder, "Juli this is not crazy. The bow is magical. Like I said, it'll answer to your calling, as I'm sure you've noticed. It does what _you_ want it to do. You saw something bad happening, and your subconscious told the bow to kill it. You did nothing wrong. If anything, you saved us all. You have a gift, kid. You have a gift to do good in the world. "

Juli didn't know how react. So this is supposed to happen? My "magical bow" is supposed fly to my hand and coat the arrows with flames? As much as Juli didn't want to believe this nonsense, he believed the mage. He could see the honesty in Omar's eyes. However, he could sense the bow calling to him. As if the wooden weapon was a _part_ of him. Juli looked at the mage with plead, "Why me? I'm not mage. Why do I get the magical bow and not Doreen?" The name triggered something in Omar. He saw how sorrow washed over the man at the mention of her name. Juli hadn't meant to be so blunt, an effect of the stupid magical bow, he thought. He wanted to apologize to the mage, "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

He nodded, understanding the apology, "I know, I miss her too." This time, it didn't bother Juli that the mage knew his thoughts. If anything, he felt comforted by Omar.

Omar squatted to the ground. Juli noticed how the man lowered his body to the ground, in such a way that showed manners. The mage didn't bend, he would lower his body, and then he would half bend. A man with such delicacy, Juli wondered for just a moment, must have been given some type of education when he was younger. Omar picked up the red bow and quiver from the ground. The mage put on the gear and went outside. Juli followed his white long garment. The long robe hovered above's the man feet as he walked. It was so long that if someone were to follow Omar in the woods, they wouldn't have to be close to him to keep track of him, they could just follow the trail that the regal peace of cloth left behind. Juli was surprised to see that the mage was actually pointing upwards with the bow. What is he doing? Before Juli could utter the question…

 _fum._

 _fum._

Juli marveled at with which skill The Keeper used the bow. Omar released the arrows with such great force that two birds fell to the ground. A white beauty, and another bird he didn't recognize which was a mixture of purple, white, and yellow. Omar grinned and looked at Juli, gesturing to the fallen birds, "See, I wanted to cook them with the arrow, but I couldn't." Omar took off bow and quiver, he offered the gear to Juli, "It'll only receive orders from you." The mage's grin turned into a wide smile, "Now, why don't you cook some dinner."

Juli heard the bow calling to him, or is it that _I_ am calling _it._ Juli felt how much he could trust the bow. He felt as if the bow was a person and he could trust the person. A trust so great that he could walk into the woods blindfolded and the bow would guide him; just like the trust he felt for Father. He decided to take bow. As soon as he touched it, the sense of agility was back. His eyes could see great details of the birds hovering above. He felt stronger. This was indeed a magical bow, he thought. He positioned himself where Omar had been; in the middle of the camp, between tents and blacksmith tables. He drew one of the black arrows from the red quiver, he studied it and his eyes fixated on the mage, "What are they made of?' Juli asked as he gestured toward the shiny black arrow, which he thought to be quite beautiful.

"It's onyx."

Juli winced— what is _that_?

Omar noticed the lack of understanding Juli had about said material, "It's metal. Hard to find but not impossible. However, your bow can enchant any arrows. They could be made of plastic, and it could still, if it is your will, coat them in fire, water, and even earth. You can also increase the speed of your arrows, but we'll get to that later."

Juli felt a tingle of excitement that went throughout his body, or was it the bow? He was grateful that Omar was willing to help. He placed the head of the onyx arrow on the belly of the bow, and pulled back on the string with the arrow. If anyone looked at it, they'd think the bow was a regular one. It's belly had not especial designs, or anything that may be deemed as anything out of the ordinary. On the surface, it just looks like a red wooden arc with a string attached to it. However, Juli knew, in this very moment when he held the bow, that this was _not_ an ordinary bow. It didn't _feel_ ordinary. It was like holding the balance of the world on his hands. With the string pulled back by the arrow, he lowered his head. Just like Uncle taught him, he took deep breaths and relaxed. He wanted dinner for him, Mother and Tobias. He felt the bow agreeing to his thoughts. It was as if the bow was an _extension_ of his mind. His will was dinner and the bow did so. He was looking at the ground with the arrow pointing to the sky, but then he felt it. The heat surging through his body. It was as if the bow was lit on fire, so he lifted his head to look at it. And as he felt it, the black arrow blazed with a yellow flame. Even as it touched his right hand which held the butt of the arrow, it _didn't_ burn. His eyes turned to Omar, and the mage gave him a solemn nod. He let go of the arrow.

 _fum._

 _fum._

Two shooting stars in the orange sky seemed to go on forever on their flight. However, they came to a stop. Omar and Juli were both staring agape at the sky, astonished by what had happened. Then, their gawking was ended by the charred birds that fell to the ground like meteors. Both birds were bigger than the ones Omar shot. The speed with which the arrows fled was greater than Omar's arrows as well. Juli noticed Omar almost shook with excitement, at the very least that's what the bow told him.

Omar lifted a brow and grinned, "So, are you keeping the bow?"

Juli nodded.

Omar opened his mouth to speak, but he was startled when he heard a thud behind him .

"Is this what they call darkspawn?" Tobias said from behind as him and Patrick stood near the blackened corpse.

Juli saw it now and _smelled_ it. Its odor of rotten flesh, made Juli almost vomited.

Omar approached the corpse carefully. He sauntered towards it, as if the mage thought it was going to come alive and attack him. Omar crouched and studied the creature, he spoke without shifting his focus, "Juli, do you mind if we resume this some other time?"

"Sure."

Juli picked up the charred birds, and started for Mother. Will Mother be upset that I took so long? She was reluctant about letting him go to the river, so he assumed that she ought to be furious. However, as he neared his tent, he found Mother outside sitting on the ground, holding a baby, and… _laughing._ It all made sense when he saw Shannon coming out of their tent.

"Hello hunter." Shannon said as she saw Juli.

"Hello Shannon."

Again, Juli didn't know how, but he felt fond of Shannon. He felt as if he could trust her, or at least that's what the bow told him .

Cathy handed the baby to Shannon, the she turned her head towards Juli, "What took you so long, honey?" Cathy's eyes peered at the charred birds.

Juli looked at the ground— he didn't know what to tell Mother. He figured he'd tell her the truth. After all, she will find out one way or the other that a darkspawn was at the camp. He lifted his head and glanced at Shannon, then gazed at Mother, "I found—"

"We found a darkspawn." Juli was startled by Tobias' voice. Seriously, that man is so _sneaky._

The women's faces went from wide smiles to frowned grimaces. Shannon, in particular, seemed more alerted by this than Mother. The thin-faced woman got up, holding her baby, she fixated her look on Tobias, "Are there any more?" She held her baby close to her, it was as if she thought the corrupted creature will come and snatch the baby out of her hands.

Tobias sighed heavily, "I sure hope not. Thank this guy here." He titled his head towards Juli, "He was the one that found the darkspawn by the lake, and shot it."

Her eyes turned to Juli. He could see that she was grateful for what he'd done— he could see it on her shiny green eyes that showed nothing but gratitude.

Mother, however, got up and hugged Juli, "Maker's breath, are you ok Juli?"

Juli nodded. Cathy held her son tight. And Juli, too, held his Mother tight. They'd already lost someone, they didn't want to lose each other.

 _—_

By night, everyone on the clan had heard of the appearance by the darkspawn. People gathered around Omar— the sheep waiting to be told what to do by their shepherd. This time, the mage stood in the middle of the sheep huddled around him. His thin body, illuminated by the blaze of the fire that cooked a deer, seemed to have loomed over everyone here.

"Yes, it's true. A darkspawn was found lurking in the camp." People mumbled. A mumble that manifested as a wave of fear that drenched them with dread.

Omar tapped the butt of the wooden stick with the ground, and made it a sound loud enough that everybody stopped bickering. Juli didn't really know how the wooden staff made such great sound, but he assumed it must had been some kind of spell that amplified the tap of wood with the soft green ground.

"Now, we're working on a solution for the darkspawn. In the meantime, someone needs to go out hunting. This," Omar gestured to the deer in front of him, " is all we have left."

This time people didn't mumble, they peered all of the corners of the camp. It was as if they thought the wicked darkspawn will come from the dark nooks that were about and attack. However, as much as people looked, none came. Juli couldn't tell if that made people feel safe or not, their faces were unreadable.

Theresa and the blonde guy who'd flanked Patrick earlier walked towards the mage. Theresa, with her sturdy face spoke with a firm tone, "We'll go."

I have a magical bow, can't I go? Juli knew Mother wouldn't allow him. But still, he knew that they could use him. After all, Juli thought, I know how to hunt. Yes, Juli wanted to help. However, a feeling of hope coursed through him— maybe there was a chance he could find Doreen and Uncle. Juli's thoughts of hope were interrupted as his eyes caught Tobias shifting through the crowd— he was going to volunteer. Through the dim light given by the fire, he saw Mother's hand on Tobias' elbow— she didn't want him to go. They gazed at each other for what seemed an eternity. That gaze between them, Juli noted, was more than a gaze. Juli couldn't really tell if, somehow, Mother and Tobias could convey words with their eyes, but it appeared to be enough for Mother that she let go of him. Even if Mother had let go of Tobias, Juli could see the unease with which she let go. Mother saw Tobias go, her eyes pleading Tobias to stay.

Tobias stood tall next to Theresa, and the blonde guy that Juli didn't know the name of. Tobias nodded to Omar, and so did they.

The blonde guy fixated his eyes on Omar, "Shall we go at dawn?"

Omar agreed, "Good idea, what's your name hunter?" asked the mage as he lifted a brow.

"Erick."

The three hunters stood side by side, and all eyes turned to them. Juli hadn't realized that somehow the blaze of the fire _reflected_ on the hunters' chests, including Tobias. Juli squinted his eyes at them, and he realized that all three of them were wearing…shiny clothes? He stared at them for another moment, and he realized they were wearing shiny armor. Isn't that Patrick called it? Juli assumed that this must'd been Patrick's work. At least the human is doing something right, Juli thought. The three hunters were protected on knees, and chests. The armor looked awkward on them, as Dalish clans didn't usually follow that human practice that Templars followed.

 _—_

"Why don't you eat, you need energy for the morning." Cathy said as she and Tobias sat just outside Cathy's tent.

Tobias stared into the dark path that was the way out of the camp. Cathy noticed how he just gazed at the shadows, it was as if the man never knew he held a plate in his hands, or that Cathy was even here for that matter. Cathy didn't like seeing Tobias like this. She wanted to do anything to comfort him. However, Cathy didn't really know how to make him feel any better. The darkspawn news hit everyone hard. Even she herself seemed to be feeling the same thing Tobias felt— dread. Not knowing what was going on was torture. She dragged her self to be next to him, the log they were sitting on was young as Cathy felt it's smoothness was that of a baby's skin.

She took Tobias' chin and turned his face towards her. In the gloomy moon light, she could see the features of his face in a whole new way. His pale skin took a blueish color. His armor shone in the vivid moonlight. She noticed Tobias' eyes were wet.

"What's the matter?" She asked him.

Tobias looked speechless. It was as if his mouth had been cupped by someone that didn't want him to say a word. Cathy's face became stiff, "Don't hold it in. Talk."

Tobias seemed to be taken a little aback by Cathy's firm tone. Even Cathy was surprised at her own stoicism. Tobias straightened himself on the log he was sitting on. He was still having issues uttering words. He could see that Cathy would not stop her penetrating stare until he spoke. He took a quiet long breath, and mustered up courage to speak. "I couldn't protect him, Cathy. I wasn't there for him. He could've gotten hurt. I just…" he fixed his eyes on Cathy, "I just don't want you to lose Juli like I lost my son."

Cathy kept her gaze and grinned, "That's not gonna happen."

Tobias was flabbergasted by the reaction of the woman. For how much she tried to protect Juli, she sure appeared to be untroubled by the fact that her son was in front of a darkspawn earlier.

Cathy withdrew her hands from Tobias' face and placed them on her knees. She lowered her head and got lost in thought, "You know that kid is especial. I mean, he knew how to shoot an arrow by the age of _seven._ " Cathy laughed so hard that she had to place her palm on her mouth, as some of the clan was already asleep.

She lifted her head and arched a brow at Tobias, " _Seven._ I mean do you know any other boy or girl that is an archer by the age of _seven_?"

Tobias, still bewildered by the mirth of the woman, shook his head.

"I'm actually kind of proud of him, even if I'm not that fond of archery. He saved all of us today. For as much I want to protect him, I can't. If anything, he's the one that will protect us."

Cathy took Tobias' hands in hers, and she looked at her companion with intensity, "You've done more than enough to protect us. Since the day Kurl died, you've been there for us. For Juli. You've been there for _me._ "

Cathy pulled Tobias in for a hug. His skin was soft and arm. She wanted to hold on tight to him forever. She wanted to show him how much she appreciated the fact that he'd always been there for her. She wanted to tell him that she _loved_ him. I mean, do I?

The truth was that Cathy didn't think she would feel this way again. She felt Tobias held her tight too.

Cathy figured that Tobias needed rest, so she pulled herself out of the embrace, as much as she didn't want to.

"You should rest."

So he went to his tent to get some rest, a morning full of hunting awaited him.

Cathy hadn't realized how late it was. It was late enough that everyone at the camp was asleep, except two people she spotted at the entrance of the camp that were on watch. She could make out the long mane of a woman archer, and the bald-headed human. The human held two daggers in an awkward manner, it seemed the man was not deft with weapons in battle. Cathy thought that was odd, considering the fact that he made weapons. Cathy didn't dwell into her opinion of the strange human, she was exhausted. She stepped into her tent , and lay on her cot. Juli was already asleep. She stared at her beloved son. She hadn't realized how much he'd grown. Even if he was eleven, he looked way more than different than before losing his father. He was taller. Even if his eleven-year old muscles were small, they were filled. All of that training with Nick and Doreen probably helped forge Juli's husky eleven-year old body. Doreen and Nicholas, are they well? Are they even alive? Cathy knew that thinking about it would only make it worse. But still, not knowing was killing her. How long had it been, three days since the camp burnt? In three days so much had happened. Nicholas and Doreen's whereabouts were unknown. Her home burnt. A darkspawn attacked her son. She turned her head, so that she could look at the roof and pray. She prayed to Andraste to protect her son. To bring Doreen and Nicholas back to their new camp on one piece. She glanced at Juli, and she _begged_ Andraste to protect, most of all, Juli. Her glance turned into a stare. She fixed her eyes on that kid that she brought to the world and adored so much. She kept her eyes peeled at Juli, she didn't want to lose him out of her sight. She didn't want the wicked creatures to come and attack him. As much as she wanted to not take her eyes off Juli, her fatigue was too great, so her eyes shut.

 _—_

The next morning when Cathy woke, Juli was gone. So was Tobias, and the two other hunters that were supposed to go hunting with him.


	22. Ice

Juli strode quietly behind the three hunters. It'd been difficult for Juli to bee more stealthy than Tobias, the man made no sound at all. On one occasion, they'd heard Juli from behind. Thankfully, they were in a area where it was full of trees, so Juli was able to hide behind the trunk of one before they wheeled to see what was behind them. Juli was determined to not get caught, as they would probably take him back to the camp. He was committed to see where they were going, maybe Tobias was looking for Doreen and Uncle. Nevertheless, Juli was willing to investigate their whereabouts, even if it meant upsetting Mother. He'd snuck out of the camp with very little trouble, for the most part anyway. When Juli woke, it was drizzling outside. However, that did not stop him from sneaking out of the camp. Patrick had caught him, and strangely enough, the adult human didn't scold him.

Patrick said, "I'll never understand how you Dalish do it. But if you're gonna hunt, take some proper armor."

The "armor" covered almost his entire body. It was almost like a metal suit that had great flexibility. Juli realized just how much this armor protected him when he tripped over the root of a tree that was above the ground and plummeted, the insides of the suit felt _soft._ Juli assumed it was some kind of padding. Juli decided to not dwell onto the wonders of the armor, as he was making sure his gait was not loud enough to get the attention of Tobias again. Out of the three, Theresa was the loudest. Juli assumed that was because she was the loudest and huskiest of the three. Despite the fact that Erick was the most limber of the three, he was still a bit louder than Tobias. The man had a knack for stealthiness. Tobias wasn't taller than Theresa but he was taller than Erick. The blonde guy was just a couple of inches taller than Juli. Had it not been for the stubble on his face, one could mistake him for a teenager.

The farther they went in, the more trees appear. There were so many trees, that Juli was losing the sense of direction of where they were going. Do they even _know_ where they are going? The white clouds didn't help, as they blocked the sun. The lack of light allowed the trees to become a canopy that made the place looked _dim._ He heard the snap of a twig, out of instinct, he wheeled to see what it was. There was nothing.

 _crunch._

He wheeled back to front, and there was nothing but trees.

 _crunch._

He peered anxiously to his left and right…nothing, and the three hunters escaped from his sight. HIs nostrils flaring, with bow at the ready, he looked into every direction of the never ending forest of trees. He knew something followed him. He could feel it. His bow, oddly enough, didn't tell him there was a threat about, like it did before with the darkspawn back at the camp. For a moment, he squinted into what he thought was the path that the three hunters had taken, he saw nothing but trees in the dim landscape.

 _crunch._

Despite his dread, Juli mustered his courage, "Whatever or whoever you are, come out and face me!"

His voice was loud enough that he heard how it echoed through the forest, he indeed was alone. He felt something gripped his shoulder from behind, he tried to get it off, but before he could, the hand dragged him down to the ground. He tasted the wet dirt of the ground and felt his shoulder hit hard against it. For a moment, he just laid on the ground. Then, lifted himself up.

With bow at the ready, he shouted at what dragged him down , "GET AWAY FROM ME DARKSPAWN OR YOU DIE!"

Juli noticed how this creature was rather lithe and small, compared to the one that attacked him back at the camp. Juli noticed that the creature had hair, it didn't have talons… it had _fingers_. He noticed the bizarre specimen winced and writhed in pain.

"Darkspawn don't understand english, idiot."

Juli winced. This is not a darkspawn, Juli thought. Then what is it? Its skin was coated in black. Then, still pointing the bow at the creature, he squinted at it. He noticed how the creature had short air. The creature had a mouth, and a face. It had hands and ears. And its ears, were those of an elf. Pointy and big. Then he saw her green eyes, and he realized it was Doreen.

He felt a wave of joy wash over him. He dropped his bow and knelt to greet his best friend. Then when he knelt, she gripped his forearm, and once again, dragged him to the ground.

Doreen whispered from behind him, " _quiet!_ "

Juli felt the heavy breathing of Doreen behind him. He noticed the anxiety in her voice— she was afraid. Before Juli asked of what, he heard the rattling of leaves. Then he caught glances of silhouettes that jumped form tree to tree. As if the fear Doreen felt was contagious, Juli felt it too now. He turned his head and fixed his eyes on Doreen, " _What are those?_ " Juli said as he tried to cock his head towards the trees.

" _Darkspawn!_ "

Juli didn't know what he'd expected. He guessed that some part of him hoped that it'd be something else. He reached for his bow, and he confirmed what Doreen said. As soon as he touched it, he felt the same thing that he felt when he encountered the darkspawn at the camp. The bow telling him that something evil was approaching. Something wicked and _corrupted._ He was curious about why the bow said nothing about Doreen. He decided to not ponder that as the situation he was in was far too dire to worry about that. The shadows were barely visible as they hopped from branch to branch.

" _Juli,_ " Doreen was so close that he could smell her and feel the puff of her breath, "take the next one out."

Juli grinned, he leapt to his feet, and shot careful glances about. He caught sight of a shadow in mid-air, and felt a cold current going through his body. The relaxation needed for the shot came natural to him. He aimed an arrow at the creature that was in the middle of the trajectory to another tree. The arrow coated itself with ice. For a split second, Juli admired the frozen pillar. At first it was covered with a thin layer of frost. On top of that, small diamonds grew from the shaft. He released, and with great speed the arrow thrusted through the chest of the darkspawn, freezing it in midair. The creature dropped to the ground and broke into tiny ice shards.

For a second, Doreen gawked at Juli. Then, she too, jumped to to her feet as the other darkspawn already surrounded Juli.

Doreen, breathed heavily and gazed at Juli, "Juli, can you shoot one of those frozen arrows again?"

Juli, baffled by the question, nodded. I _think_ I can.

They were both being trapped by the darkspawn, as the creatures closed in on them. The blackened beings hissed at them, and brandished their talons. Juli looked at Doreen, she seemed to want the creatures to close in on them. Is she nuts?

"Juli, when I say now, you shoot a frozen arrow upwards."

Juli was so scared that he just nodded. He _hoped_ he could shoot another frozen arrow. The truth was that he couldn't quite control the bow. He just _felt_ things, but he didn't know how to control those feelings that came from the bow.

The wicked beings closed in. They were so close that Juli could smell the stench when they hissed. What is she waiting for?

The darkspawn got closer— they were at arm's length form them. Juli readied his bow and arrow, and aimed above him.

"Now!"

Juli let go of the arrow, and with great speed it thrusted upwards above him. However, this time it wasn't a pillar of ice, it was just a black arrow.

Doreen screamed in great pain, as one of the creatures dug into her forearm.

Come on! Remember what Omar said, "…it responds to your will."

Come on, you stupid bow, freeze an arrow for me! He drew another arrow from his quiver, and shot it upwards. He didn't care if it was silly, but he closed his eyes and thought of something cold. Now he felt it; the cold current surged inside of him. And then he saw it, the great pillar was above him and he let go.

The pillar stopped mid air, and it turned into four more arrows. The five arrows turned upside down, and plunged them selves towards the darkspawn surrounding them. Juli was agape. Then he realized that Doreen was still screaming in agony, trying to get the darkspawn off her. Before he could reach to help Doreen with the fray, the creature froze. An arrow careened through its spine, and the creature felt to the ground, as a rock falls to the ground— not breaking, just laying on the muddy ground. Juli realized that Doreen had her arm lifted— her open palm pointing in the direction where the arrow had just stopped moving in the middle of the air. A hazy fog puffed from her palm. She casted a spell that multiplied the arrows. Juli stared at Doreen agape. His gawking was interrupted when he saw her arm was grazed. Her forearm was coated in blood, Juli couldn't really tell where she was wounded. He placed his hand on her elbow, "Doreen, I need to take you back to the camp."

Doreen widened her eyes, staring with great fear at Juli, "Juli watch out!"

He wheeled and a darkspawn ran towards them. This one was insanely fast. Juli tried to ready his bow, but an arrow peered out of its left eye and suddenly fell to its knees. It kneeled on the ground, and dropped on its belly— limp. As the darkspawn fell out of sight, Tobias, Theresa, and Erick were sprinting towards them.


	23. The Handkerchief

Uncle was dead. Juli was glad to have found Doreen, but he didn't know how to feel about loosing his uncle. He certainly was sad. However, Juli didn't cry. Not like he did when his father passed away. This sadness felt more like a void. He felt that uncle had many truths to tell. Uncle was always honest with him about humans, mages and everything else. He felt as if that void in his heart could only be filled by Uncle's honesty.

Everyone at the camp was devastated by the news. Even the ones that didn't know Uncle were gloomy. Every clan member is considered family. So if someone passes, even if one didn't know the deceased, one would still feel the pain. Even though every person in the clan was in deep sorrow, Mother was the one that had drowned in it. When Juli, Doreen and the three hunters came back to the camp without Uncle, Mother knew. And her eyes filled with tears. She was happy that Doreen was alive, but at the same time miserable that Uncle was gone. She hugged Doreen, and they both cried. They both wept as they held each other tight.

Doreen and Uncle almost burnt, but they miraculously made it out safely. She and Uncle had a very hard time after the camp burnt. Doreen said she was lucky to be alive as she and Uncle were attacked by darkspawn while they slept in some cave they found. Doreen seemed reluctant to tell the tale. Why didn't darkspawn attack us when we slept in our cave? Juli couldn't imagine how terrible it would feel to be awaken by such vile creatures. Doreen was covered in soot. She said that was from all the smoke that smoldered from the camp as she tried to get Uncle out of it. She was so traumatized by the whole thing; pulling Uncle out of the camp, so a darkspawn will slit his throat later on.

Juli sat on the ground, just outside of his tent. He stared at the hallas that were roaming about. He hadn't really noticed the beautiful white stags until now. They were the only ones that weren't aware of the tragedies. Their steep heads lowered near the ground, gnawing at the green grass. Juli had his bow next to him, he didn't know if the darkspawn would come back for revenge. He noticed how he only had Two arrows left on his quiver. Does Patrick know how to make arrows? Shouldn't I learn how to make arrows? His red shiny bow almost made him forget the fact that Uncle was dead. But how could he forget Uncle? He was the one that taught Juli the art of archery. He felt a great deal of nostalgia as he gazed at his bow. Even though this was technically a different and magical bow, it still looked exactly like the bow he used when he trained with Uncle and Doreen, and so he remembered those days of training. Had it not been only a few days since he trained with Uncle and Doreen? Even if it was just a few days, it felt like an eternity. What if I had not stormed out like I did when I found out Doreen was a mage, will Uncle be alive now? Will Doreen might had not been attacked by darkspawn? His head spun. The last few days had been so overwhelming, that he felt his mind couldn't really process everything— Uncle being dead, Doreen casting spells, darkspawn attacking them, and him feeling somehow guilty for all of it.

"Are you ok?"

A woman's voice made Juli flinch. He lifted his head— it was Theresa. Juli looked at the looming woman, and nodded.

Her gaze was penetrating. It was as if the woman studied him carefully, fascinated by him. She sat in a cross-legged position in front of him. She pulled out a handkerchief from one of her front pockets, and offered it to Juli, "Crying helps. When you decide to let it all out, you may find some use in it."

Juli was puzzled by the motion of the woman. What does she mean crying always helps? I mean, it's not like I'm not sad, but I don't feel the need to cry. Juli didn't feel anything— he felt numb. After the white piece of cloth hung in the air awkwardly for a while, he gracefully took it. The sturdy woman looked like she wanted to say something, but said nothing. She got up and left.

The white clouds cleared and gave way to sunshine. The sun was at its peak, and Juli was soaked in sweat. His metal armor just made the heat worse so he took it off. His brown trousers and tunic were drenched in sweat. He decided to go to the river to wash himself. As he got up to walk, Mother's head peered out of her tent, "Where are you going?"

Mother's face was serious. Juli couldn't tell if that was because she was sad about Uncle's passing. Or maybe it was because she was still upset about him sneaking out of the camp. More than likely it was both.

Juli lowered his head and gestured with his arms to his clothes. "To the river. I'd like to wash myself."

Mother sighed and _tried_ to smile. "Just be careful, ok?"

Juli nodded readily.

 _—_

Doreen's face was covered in soot. Her whole body had been covered with the black substance for the past three days. She and Nick. The thought of Nick shattered every other thought that came about. Since Juli brought her to the new camp, she hadn't stopped crying. It was such a merciless and inhumane death, Doreen thought. They just crept into the cave, and disfigured his face. Didn't give him a chance to fight for his life. Just caught us off-guard and maimed him. This is so unfair. Nick took care of me since I was little, why someone so kindhearted gets such an unsympathetic death. He was one of those people that deserved to die of old age. He didn't deserve to die like this. Such an _injustice._ Tears ran down her face again. However, this time her cry was silent. They were tears of anger and frustration. She wanted nothing but to eradicate all of the darkspawn.

The stench she wore reminded her of the wicked animals, so she forced herself to take her clothes off. Somehow the soot covered her entire torso and belly, even though she wore a long tunic that covered her from knees to neck. She stepped into the lake. Despite the fact that the sun was at its peak, the water was surprisingly cool. As soon as the water touched her skin, the soot went away. The black substance on her skin was like darkness, it would just disappear when light touched it. She washed her arms, legs, and face. As she slid her hands down her face, Juli stood in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" She said, as she blushed and covered herself.

Juli seemed to not be staring at her, he just stood there. He gestured at the armor he held in one hand, "Washing myself."

Doreen felt silly, but she was indeed embarrassed, "Well, aren't you gonna wait till I'm done?"

"Why?"

Doreen blinked incredulously. Sometimes I forget he's only _eleven._ Doreen jutted her head, "Can you turn around and wait till I'm done, please?"

Juli cocked an eyebrow, shrugged and turned around.

Doreen's hair still felt as if it was a wig— rigid and sturdy. Her hair was soaked in mud and utterly coated with soot. She sunk her head under the beautiful crystal river, and when she pulled out, her hair returned to its natural reddish brown.

"Why can't I just wash myself now?" Juli asked with a voice that sounded like a complaint rather than a question.

"Well, because I don't want you to see me like this."

"Why?"

"Because. Because I'm a girl."

Juli's questioning was irritating her. Before she said anything, she noticed Juli's back hunch.

"I'm sorry."

Doreen heard the plead in his voice— he felt bad for questioning her. She didn't blame Juli for his inquietude, they both had been through so much. _Juli_ had been through so much. He went out there without the permission of Catherine, and brought me back to the clan. She was grateful that Juli was here. She thought for just a second, maybe it is fine that Juli will see me naked for just a moment. She shrugged off the feeling— with darkspawn out there, those thoughts won't help.

She decided she was clean. She came out of the lake, and put on her clothes. She went in front of Juli and hugged him, "Thank you."

She had to do it. She had to, somehow, let Juli know that she was grateful for Juli saving her. She let go of Juli and went back to the camp. For a second, while she walked back to the camp, Doreen admired the vastness that existed between the camp and the river. She thought that maybe the space could be used for an archery yard. However, now that she could cast spells, Doreen wasn't sure whether she could be a hunter anymore. She herself was surprised at what she did back in the woods with Juli. The only good thing that had come out of fighting darkspawn for the past three days was her magic. Now she knew that she _felt_ the magic in her veins. She knew that a thought could turn into a spell. However, all the magic she'd done made her feel exhausted. She didn't feel physically tired. It was more like being thirsty— she felt that she needed something but didn't know what. She surmised that Omar would have an explanation for her, since the man had been a mage for as long as she could remember.

The keeper stared at a steaming cauldron that was atop a table. Doreen walked up to him. The keeper noticed Doreen approaching, and ran off to her to _hug_ her.

"Doreen, are you well?"

Doreen was dumbstruck by the motion. It's not like she and Omar were kindred. There was something solacing about the hug, so she hugged him back. She pulled out and his face became rigid, "Have you done any magic?"

Doreen, puzzled by the question, nodded.

Omar, as if the nod invigorated him, readily produced a cup and a ladle. He scooped out a green steamy liquid and poured it into the cup. He offered the cup to Doreen, "Here, it'll make you feel better."

Doreen knew the potion wouldn't taste great, because it didn't smell great. Even from a distance, she could smell the pungent stench that came from the green blob. She took the cup with hesitation, as if the green fluid will jump out of the cup and attack her. For a moment she stared at the cup; bubbles would pop from it, and a white smoke rose from it. She looked at Omar— asking with her eyes if she had to drink this.

The Keeper nodded.

Doreen figured that she'd gulp the disgusting-looking potion. She took one big gulp from the cup. At first, she almost puked, but then she felt it. The tiredness she felt before started fading away. Just moments after she drank the potion, the exhaustion was gone. She felt the magic coursing through her veins once again. She looked agape at Omar, " What was that?"

"That was a mana-restauration potion."

Doreen winced, "Mana what?"

Omar gestured with his hands for her to sit down. They both sat on the ground, across from each other.

The mage fixed his eyes on the kettle that sat on the table. A tiny beam of blue appeared on Omar's eyes, and steam stopped smoldering from the black pot. Omar turned his attention back to Doreen , "Mana is the source of magic. You need mana. I need mana. Even Juli needs mana for his magical bow. Tobias and the others told me what they witnessed back at the woods. So I figured that you'd be out of mana. It is a miracle that you and Juli were able to use so much magic and didn't collapse."

Doreen was flustered by all of this. It made sense; the first night she and Nick encountered darkspawn, she had to cast an invisible spell so they could sneak from their sight. She didn't know how she did it, she just thought of being invisible and then invisible she and Nick were. After that night, the exhaustion had started. It was as if someone had drained blood out of her. However, now she knew that it was this "mana" that was the culprit for her fatigue.

Omar sighed, "It's my fault that you guys don't know about this. It's my fault that you two don't know any of this."

Doreen didn't know how to react.

Omar noticed that Doreen's forearm was wrapped in a white cloth, "What happened there?"

Doreen had almost forgotten, earlier that day, Theresa saw the wound and, without hesitation, the woman attended the injury. At this point of the day, the gauze looked more red than white. Doreen noticed Omar was still waiting for an answer, the man was deeply worried about her.

"A darkspawn."

Omar's face wrinkled, it was as if the man knew her pain. He took Doreen's arm by his had— he was examining her injury. He started unwrapping the gauze. Doreen felt like she could trust Omar, but she still wondered what Omar had in mind.

Her forearm was uncovered. Omar studied the deep graze, it went from her wrist to almost her elbow joint. Omar placed his hand above the wound, Doreen flinched from pain.

"Trust me."

Doreen could see in those eyes that Omar meant no harm. She nodded and offered her arm back. Omar once again placed his hand right above the injury. Then, a blueish flare was under Omar's palm and the wound started healing. Doreen stared in amazement as her flesh placed itself back together. After seconds, Doreen felt no more pain and the injury was completely sealed.

Doreen looked at her arm with disbelief, "How… did you do that?"

Omar smiled, "I'll teach you one day."

"Teach me one day."Doreen wondered if this meant that Omar will train her to become a mage. She knew that nobody was going to change the fact that she could so magic, but she still felt a hunter at heart. Doreen sighed and glanced at Omar, "Does that mean this mage thing is forever?"

Omar's smile turned into a rigid line and raised an eyebrow, "Are you worried about what Juli might think?"

Doreen gave him a curt nod.

Omar placed a hand on Doreen's shoulder, "Listen, being a mage is not easy task. I get it. There are some people in the world who are not going to like you, but Juli isn't one of those people. And besides, Juli is practically a mage. As you saw back in the woods, he can _enchant_ the bow to do whatever he has in mind. Now what do you call that if not magic?"

Omar had a point. Juli, somehow, was doing magic. Doreen gazed at the mage intensely, "Yeah, how did that happen in the past three days?"

Omar didn't seem surprised by the question, Doreen noted, "He has always had that ability, he just didn't know he had it until the past couple of days. And yes, I may have helped him discover that ability of his, if that is what you imply."

Doreen winced, baffled by this, "So is he a mage or not?"

"No. Juli has a gift, just like you. There's much to learn Doreen. Much that you and Juli will learn, but with time."

Does he mean he's going to train me and Juli? Doreen felt a mixture of nostalgia and sorrow. Nostalgia because training reminded her of Nick, and sorrow because Nick was dead. Without she being aware, her eyes were filled with tears. Damn those darkspawn, Doreen thought. Damn those creatures. Why were they in the surface anyway? She fixed her red eyes on Omar, "Why are these creatures in Ferelden?"

Omar shrugged, "We found a human yesterday, and he was the one that warned us about darkspawn in the surface. I was thinking the only way for us to get a grasp of what's going is to go see some friends of mine t hat may have a clue of what is happening. Only problem is that they're in the circle of magi, and I am not welcome there."

Doreen stared at Omar in confusion, "But if they're your friends, then why aren't you welcome there?"

"When I was younger, I used to be part of the circle." Omar's eyes stared at the ground, "I spent my entire childhood there, actually. But then, one day, " his voice was muffled, as if his throat was tied and the words wouldn't come out, "they found out I helped a Dalish clan, and they exiled me from the circle." Doreen could hear the sadness on the man's voice, "It wasn't the mages there, it was the chantry. They said that since I helped a Dalish clan, I was considered an apostate mage. Before the chantry locked me up, my friends warned me, and thus I fled."

Somehow, Doreen looked at Omar in a different way now. Now she knew what he had gone through. He lost everything he had, because he helped some Dalish clan. Why are humans so cruel, why?

"I can get you to speak to someone from the circle." A male voice startled them both. They raised their heads, and a human's shiny head blocked the sun. His black head worked as a moon for the sun, its shadow cast over Doreen and Omar. Doreen assumed this was the human that Omar had spoken of.

Omar's face lightened with hope, he had the same face a child has when he gets a new toy, "You can?"

The human nodded. He noticed Doreen's bewilderment and extended his hand towards her, "I'm patrick."

Doreen took the man's hand and shook it, "Doreen."

Omar almost shivered from excitement, "How can you get to the circle?"

Patrick seemed a bit flustered by Omar's behavior, even Doreen was a little freaked out by Omar's joy, "One Templar in there owes me a favor."

Is Omar falling for this? Didn't the chantry, which is administered by humans, push him out of the circle? Doreen felt like she needed to say something, "Omar can we trust this human?" Doreen tried her best to be polite as the human looked decent, however, she still wasn't sure about trusting a human with such delicate information. He could easily trick us into being incarcerated by the chantry. Doreen still remembered the lectures from Catherine; the circle of magi was created to basically let the chantry control magic throughout Thedas. I'm a mage, if the circle finds out, would they take me away from the clan? The more Doreen pondered this, the more she despised the human.

Omar noticed Doreen's hostility towards the human and put both of his hands in front of him, gesturing Doreen to calm dow, "Doreen, Patrick has been of great help to the clan. He has crafted weapons for most of our hunters."

Doreen looked at the human quizzically— even with Omar's endorsement, she wasn't sure about trusting this human.

The human gave Doreen a look full of plead, "Yes, we humans…" Patrick seemed to be having a hard time articulating the words, "we are assholes to elves. And honestly, I don't know why. When I came to the world, there was already a chantry. They had already set the rules, and I was told to follow those rules. I'm just a sheep, and I followed the shepherd. Believe me, I wish the world weren't the way it is with elves, but, for some reason, it just is. I'm sorry it is the way it is."

Doreen could see how solemn the man was being. For a second, Doreen also heard a mix of supplication and almost disappointment for his own race. She nodded— telling the human that she understood his predicament.

Omar almost didn't notice Doreen's concern, he was still waiting for the human to explain to him how he was going to be able to see his old pals.

Patrick turned his gaze towards Omar, "You say you have friends there, yes?"

The Keeper nodded.

"Well, I can be your emissary, if you like."

Omar squinted at the man, the joy seemed to have vanished form the man's face, "You're willing to betray your own people?"

Patrick grimaced, as he had been charged guilty for a crime that he didn't commit, "Who says Templars are _my_ people?"

Omar noticed the man felt offended by his question, "I'm sorry. It's just as you can see," Omar gestured at Doreen, " we Dalish don't trust humans very much."

Doreen gave Omar a nod— if the human can find out what, for Andraste's sake is going on, then we will have to trust him.

Patrick seemed to have accepted Omar's apology, "I used to craft weapons for some Templars there. I can convince some of them to look the other way while I sneak out with a mage."

Omar's fascination came back, "You know how to get to Lake Claenhad?"

Patrick smiled and nodded, spoke with pride, "It's a little ways west. They trusted me, since I crafted a few fine pieces for them, and I got to tour around the tower a few times myself. "

Even if Doreen understood what they both said, she noticed that both of them went on and on about the tower that she didn't know anything about. As cruel as Templars were, for some reason, the keeper seemed to be almost fond of the place by the way he spoke of it. They both didn't seem to notice that Doreen was even present. Doreen felt that she played no role in this conversation. She got up to leave.

"Do you have a tent to sleep on?" Omar asked her as she wheeled.

Good question, Doreen thought. With everything that had happened, a tent to sleep on was the last thought in her mind. She shook her head.

"I've got an extra cot in my tent."

Doreen turned back to face Omar, "Thank you."

Omar grinned and nodded, "Would you like to start your training tomorrow?"

Doreen didn't know how to feel about this. I mean, no. I'm a hunter. Doreen's lips turned into a solid line, "But I'm a hunter."

Doreen could hear Omar's silent sigh. He wasn't annoyed, just worried, "I know Doreen. If you want to be a hunter that's fine by me. I just want to make sure you learn to control your magic. Magic is your nature, you can't escape it. I don't mean to tell you what to do, but just know this;" Omar's serious face turned into an imploring one, "any questions about magic, don't hesitate."

Doreen wheeled and walked away from Omar. She really appreciated the keeper's concern for her, but she was confused about the whole mage thing. She missed the bow. She missed training every morning with Nick and Juli. She felt the need to shoot. To grab a bow and shoot away. Her bow burnt back at the camp. However, she knew exactly where to find one.

 _—_

The thought of being a mage still gnawed at the back of her head. Or maybe it was just the magic that she felt pumping along with her blood in her veins. Doreen felt confused and sad. Nick had died, she was mage, Juli was a mage, and to top it all, darkspawn were after the clan. The thoughts were overwhelming. She thought that a good way to channel these emotions will be to shoot something. She surmised that Juli will let her use his bow. He found him near his tent. The boy was sitting on the futile ground staring at his red bow. The bow sat across his crossed legs. He ran a hand across it, and admired it as if it was something so valuable he didn't want it to escape his sight. Juli seemed to be so mesmerized by the bow that he hadn't noticed Doreen was right in front of him.

"What are you doing?" She asked him as she sat down next to him, trying to figure out what was so especial about the bow. If there was anything peculiar about it, she couldn't tell.

Juli did not seem surprise by Doreen's appearance as he kept staring at his bow, "Nothing."

For a moment, Doreen stared at the bow as well. She was not praising it like Juli was, she _yearned_ it. She almost felt jealous of Juli. She was envious because her bow burnt back at the previous camp, and Juli's didn't. She tried to push the awful feeling away, as it would do nothing for the relationship between her and Juli.

"I miss him." Juli rasped without removing his focus from the bow.

Doreen nodded, and realized Juli couldn't tell if she'd done so, "Me too."

Juli lifted his head and gave Doreen a forlorn look, "Maybe if I had gone to train that morning, I could have been with you guys and helped you fight the darkspawn. And maybe if I had been there for Uncle, he would not be dead right now."

As great as his sorrow was, Doreen found it a bit odd that Juli shed no tears. She didn't know what to make of someone that felt sad but didn't cry. Was it good to cry? Did it make things better? Did it make them worse? Doreen could also hear the guilt in his voice, she dragged her self next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Juli it's not you fault. How could you have known?"

Juli turned his gaze away from Doreen and back to the ground. His head hung there, not wanting to listen to Doreen's consolation.

Doreen lifted Juli's head by his chin. Juli didn't want meet her gaze, but Doreen wanted to meet his. After a moment of searching for Juli's attention, she found it. Juli's eyes frowned, and his face wrinkled with sadness. She gazed at the boy that she'd known for almost her entire life. She noticed his black mane, that went almost as far as his shoulders at this point. She peered into his eyes with intensity and honesty. She kept her gaze firm at him, and realized something; this boy… is _beautiful._ Doreen grinned at Juli with nothing but compassion, "Remember what you told me once?"

Juli lifted an eyebrow, as he seemed to be puzzled by Doreen's question.

Her grin widened into a smile so wide that she almost chuckled, "You once told me that one must live for oneself, because that's what our loved ones would ask of us from the Fade."

Juli was agape. She assumed this was the same face she made when Juli said the same thing. Juli nodded. His rigid face softened, and his eyes were glistened, but still no tears.

Doreen jutted her head, gesturing at the bow, which Juli gripped by one hand, "Can I try?"

Regarding the gesture, he turned his gaze towards the bow. While, even more intensely than before, Juli looked at the bow, he would glance at Doreen. He flickered his eyes between Doreen and the bow, as if trying to decipher something, Doreen noted. After giving up on whatever he was trying to accomplish, he gave Doreen a quick nod. He removed his quiver. He gave quiver and bow to Doreen.

She took the gear gracefully. She stood up, and felt the bow in her hands. She aimed at the sky, despite the fact that no birds were on sight, and drew one arrow from the red quiver. She placed the arrow on the string, and pulled back as hard as she could. She knew she could think of the arrow being pulled by ten times her force, and a spell would be casted to match her thoughts, however, she wanted this arrow to go as far as her muscles could take it. She wanted to feel like a hunter for once. She pulled back some more to the point where the nock of the arrow went past her ribs. Finally, she let go. The arrow went up and away in the blue sky. She was impressed of how far the arrow had gone as it looked like a black dot in the vast blue sky. She squinted above her, and the she saw it; the arrow was coming back down with great force. She was so dumbstruck, that she stood there gawking at the black meteorite that thrusted itself her way. I'm the one doing this? I don't feel any magic going through me. And then that's when she figured it out; she couldn't control her magic. The arrow was so close now, that she could make its long and pointy form with her eyes. The enchanted dart closed in on her, and she closed her eyes. She stood there coiling her body, waiting for the arrow to thrust through her chest. However, the arrow did not go through to her. She opened her eyes, and the arrow was gone from sight. Where did it go? I'm I going mad? or worse, I'm I being possessed by a demon from the Fade? Doreen panicked. Her chest started heaving, and she collapsed. Her head became fuzzy, and she dropped the bow. She was about to swoon, but a hand held her from falling.

The boy didn't hold her as much as just slowed her fall, she fell on top of Juli.

She readily got up. Juli is here, so this can't the Fade. So, I am going mad. Doreen plunked herself on the ground, and her eyes were welling up with tears.

"Are you ok?" Juli's voice was filled with concern.

Doreen scrambled, away from Juli, "Get away from me!"

Juli's face gnarled in confusion.

Doreen was not willing to let her magic hurt this boy, whom she loved with all her heart, "I can't control my magic! I've been possessed by a demon! You didn't see what the arrow did? It stopped in midair and came back from the sky to kill me!"

Juli ran up to her. Doreen tried to crawl farther back, but her back met a tent. Juli caught up to her, "I made the arrow do that. I made it come back to the quiver." He pulled an arrow from the quiver and showed it to her, "See?"

Doreen's face sagged. She had had enough for one day. She didn't want to be a mage. She wanted Nick back. She wanted all of the darkspawn frustration washed over her, and she started crying.

Juli took her in his arms, despite them not being big enough to hold Doreen, she felt safe in them.

Doreen wondered if Juli will accept her as mage. She looked at Juli with plead, "It's not my fault Juli. I didn't ask to be a mage!" She wailed.

If Juli felt resentment towards Doreen being a mage, he didn't show it. However, Doreen couldn't exactly tell if he was upset or not. Juli reached into his front pocket. "Here." He offered her a white handkerchief.

Doreen took the piece of cloth and wiped at her nose.

"I'm sorry." Juli's voice came out almost as low as a whisper.

Doreen lifted a brow in confusion.

Juli noticed she didn't know what he was referring to, "Finding out your were a mage was just… unexpected." Juli's eyes glistened, "I'm sorry I freaked out like that. I am sorry."

Doreen was rather surprised with this, she'd thought for sure Juli felt a bit bitter, since, after all, a mage killed his father. "So you're ok with me being mage?" She asked him expectantly.

For a moment, he seemed to have considered his answer. Then he gave Doreen a careless shrug, "Magic is not that bad. We took all of those darkspawn on our own because of it. So, yeah, I'm ok with you being a mage."

They both shared a smile. Amongst all the tragedy and madness, Doreen was grateful to have Juli here. She snapped, got up and took Juli's hand. She gave bow and quiver to him. Juli was stumped by the gesture.

"Come on." Doreen insisted cheerfully.

Juli gave in, and he followed behind Doreen.

"Where are we going?"

Doreen's face lightened with a smile, "Trust me."

They ran up to Omar. The keeper was still speaking with Patrick. Doreen almost didn't notice Patrick, and she got in between them, "Yes, I'm ready to start training tomorrow."

Omar smiled, "What changed your mind?"

Doreen glanced at Juli, whom still appeared to be a bit baffled by all of this. Omar nodded.

The Keeper gave Juli, the only "true archer" of the four, a benevolent look, "Would you joining us tomorrow Juli?"

"Joining you for what?" He asked in absolute bewilderment.

Omar placed his hands behind his back and smiled, "To train tomorrow."

Juli's eyes flickered between Doreen and Omar, he slowly nodded. Doreen wasn't sure that he meant that nod. She gave Juli a candid look, "Juli if you don't want to do this—"

"I do."

"The bow is driving you crazy, isn't it?" Omar asked Juli.

Juli seemed to be taken aback by the question, "How did you know?"

Omar's posture was as regal as ever, he turned his eyes towards Doreen,"You should know Juli's gift lets him _feel_ other people's personalities. In a sense, he can almost read minds."

Doreen was dumbstruck by the news. Does he know that I have a thing for him? Isn't it creepy for a fourteen-year girl old to feel something for an eleven-year old? I mean he's almost twelve, anyway. Doreen tried to shake off the thoughts, and tried to gather herself. If Juli knew that Doreen felt something for him, he sure didn't show it. She glanced at Juli, and at Patrick. The human had a face that she could only describe as a mixture of horror and astonishment.

The keeper regarded Patrick, who just stared at Juli in sheer wonder, "Patrick, when will you be leaving?"

The human almost didn't hear Omar, as he still gawked at Juli. Patrick seemed to noticed everyone was still staring at him, so he snapped, "Yes. Tomorrow morning." He sputtered.

"Very well. I'll look into sending one of our hunters with you. With darkspawn out there, who knows what kind of danger may come upon your path."

"Thank you." The human said gracefully.

Doreen surmised that Omar was referring to Patrick going to the precious Circle of Magi that the keeper appeared to be so fond of. Patrick glanced at Juli and Doreen, "I can talk to Theresa, if you like."

Omar nodded, and Patrick was in his way to find Theresa. Doreen found the woman rather affable. As they headed back to the camp, the woman still scouted the area for any more darkspawn that may come about, Doreen felt safe knowing that people like her where part of the clan. And the human was taking her as his bodyguard just like that?

She fixed her look on Omar, "Why is Theresa going with him?" She demanded.

Omar sighed, "He needs someone to protect him with all the madness that's going on. He's the only one of us that can get the information about the darkspawn, or, for Andraste's sake, whatever it is that is going on." He shrugged, understanding Doreen's concern, "We're going to have to trust to him. He's the only one that can get to the circle."

Doreen liked Omar, but she sure didn't love the air of arrogance that came about him sometimes. However, she knew Omar had a point— the hysteria was in the air. Everyone wanted to know what was happening.

"If it is this serious, then we better start training." Juli said almost eagerly.

That kid never stops surprising me, Doreen thought.

The keeper nodded in agreement, "We start tomorrow. You two should get supper and rest."

Doreen couldn't argue with either of them, she wanted to learn how to control her "gift" as soon as possible.

Juli nodded, the boy seemed adamant about training, Doreen noted.


	24. Motherhood

Juli decided to go back to his tent. Cathy sat on the ground with her legs crossed and her head buried deep inside a black book as she tried to read it on the weak light that the twilight offered. It was one of those books that was given to her by her grandmother, whom Juli never got to meet. The tome was one of the few texts that had stories of when elves lived on the Dales in peace. For some time, they lived there without bothering anyone. However, that was not enough for humans, Orlais pushed them out of their land. A piece of land that was given to them by Andraste as a gift for helping her on her revolution. That was the beginning of the segregation between elves and humans. The dawn of the hostility that is portrayed towards elves all across Thedas. That seed of loathing that was planted after humans couldn't stand the peace amongst elves and savagely attacked the tranquil land of the Dales. The chantry, at the time, declared a holy war on the elves. Orlais maimed elves to the point where they had to yield to the humans' terms. Those terms, are the conditions in which elves live today; if they're city elves, they live on alienages, or they are ostracized from society— Dalish elves.

"Honey, get ready, I start school tomorrow." Mother said evenly, without taking her eyes off the book.

Juli glared at Mother, but then shook off the look. He was grateful that she didn't see his gesture, he didn't want to upset her after everything that had happened that day.

"I know you don't like it honey, but, you know the rules, no school no archery."

Juli nodded. Mother still didn't pry her head out of the book, it was if she had drowned on that pool of knowledge. After a moment, Mother closed the book and fixed her eyes on Juli. She gestured him to seat.

Juli could see the seriousness in her face— it was stone cold. She gazed at the ground, hesitating to speak. She lifted her head and her face was all concern, "Tobias told me about you and Doreen back at the woods." She fidgeted with the book, looking at the ground again. She looked at Juli with a stark face, "Is it true? Can you do magic?"

Juli shrugged with one shoulder."My bow can, but Omar says that I have a gift. He says that I am the only one that can make it do the things it does. I don't mean to do magic. It just happens when I am in danger." Juli's voice came out as an apology.

She caressed his hair. Her rigid face softened, and she tried to smile, "Are you ok with it?"

Juli was staggered by the way Mother was acting after receiving the news. She never liked mages. Never liked magic. Needless to say, the woman almost despised anything magic related. Still marveling Mother's reaction, Juli nodded.

"I'll start training tomorrow with Omar."

"No." The word came out plain and resolute. It was as if Cathy didn't even think of it— an instinctual response.

Juli noticed how the rigorous woman came back. It was as if Cathy had two personalities; one that was a sweet and loving Mother, and another one that was cold and bitter. Cathy frowned and bristled— her anger was almost palpable. She got up and left— heading towards Omar's tent.

 _—_

What is that arrogant bastard thinking? That he can turn my son into a mage? Not while I'm alive. She noticed the canopy of his tent was lit. From the outside, it looked like a golden sphere that illuminated the entire tent. She thought of knocking, but she was too upset to act mage was sitting with his eyes closed and his legs crossed. The golden spheres was a lamp. However, this was not a regular lamp— the gilded glow seemed to flow inside the crystal tube. Magic, Cathy surmised. He seemed to be deep into meditation. Cathy didn't care if he was trying to allure darkspawn away, she wasn't gonna let magic take her son away from her. No. She wasn't let magic take away the only family she had left by some keeper.

"What's wrong with you?" Cathy asked intensely.

As always, Omar was as calm as ever. He seemed to have ignored Cathy for just a second. Does he think he can avoid me?

""Am talking to you—"

Before she could scold him, he opened his eyes and turned his attention to Doreen, "Could you give us moment?"

Doreen looked puzzled. She flickered her eyes between Cathy and Omar, but then cautiously went outside. Cathy noticed that Doreen looked at her with fear. She didn't want Doreen to see her like this. However, she was too livid at Omar to hide away her fury. She tried not to look at Doreen as she was mad at her son for being what Doreen was. Cathy gazed at the ground as Doreen slowly shifted away from her and out of the tent.

"I know it was you." She pointed an accusing finger at Omar, "Since that day at the cave. You gave him that magical bow and then," she made a gesture with her hands as if her head was going to explode, "he was doing magic."

Omar was still calm, as if he was waiting for Cathy to let it all out.

She threw her arms away from her hips in exasperation, "What is it with you mages? Is it not enough that you can conjure up demons? You have to go after little boys. Get away from _Juli._ "

The keeper's calm seemed to have left him, as his eyes opened wide and his face became hard. He got up, his robed figure loomed over Cathy. "Are you done?"

Cathy said nothing, her seething anger, however, was already simmering.

"Is that what you think of me? That's sad you know." He said pitifully.

"What else should I think?" If she had regretted her words, she didn't show it.

"It's sad that _you._ A woman that knows so much about elven values will think that I'm _that_ kind of mage." Omar's voice sounded pained.

Cathy laughed bitterly, "So you think you're the white sheep amongst mages? You think you're different from your kind. If you were, you would stay the hell away form Juli."

Cathy's defiance didn't surprise him , "Fine." He put up his hands, "I'll leave Juli alone. And then when he grows up and resents you for what you did, I'd say 'I told you so.'"

Cathy trudged towards him, as a fierce dragon not caring what's on its way and crossed her arms, "Resent me for what? For saving him from the dangers of magic?"

The keeper's hard face softened, "Cathy your boy has a gift. A gift that you can't take away from him, no matter how hard you try."

"Is that what you call it? He _froze_ darspawn! And even burned one! You think that's a gift? How can you do this to a boy?"

"You can blame me all you want," Omar's voice was a whisper, making Cathy's sound like a shout, "but you know this is common amongst elves. You _know_ this is a gift to him from Andraste."

Cathy knew it. She knew the keeper was telling her the truth; this was common amongst elves. And if anything, magic was encouraged amidst elves, as it was use for, most of the time, healing. Cathy's frustration was too great, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm sorry Cathy." Omar's voice was earnest.

"Why him?" Cathy's plead was muffled by the gloomy knot at her throat.

Omar's eyes were sparkling— he felt for the woman. He'd known that her husband was taken away from her by a mage. _That was the reason why she was so upset for her son being a mage, or at least being able to wield a magical bow_. Cathy fell in his arms, and sobbed uncontrollably.

Omar pulled her away from him, and starkly gazed at her, "I won't let anything happen to Juli. I _promise._ "

Cathy nodded, and tried to dab her tears with her hands. Her face was soaked with tears. She tried to control her weeping, "There's nothing to be done?" Her anger was replaced by a cry of help.

The mage nodded solemnly, "The only thing to do is to train him. Teach him how to control his magic. He is a smart kid. He'll be fine."

Cathy's head spun. She cried so much that her head throbbed. She placed her finger tips on her forehead, and tried to nod. Cathy snapped, as if another thought made everything so much worse, she looked at Omar with utter dread, "Arlathvhen."

Arlathvhen, the ritual that happened every ten years— Dalish clans would meet and exchange knowledge and mages. If a clan had more than one mage, then that clan would have to give up the extra mages to a clan that didn't have any. Clan Velthrin hadn't met any other clans for the past six years. Even though that day was years away, the thought of her son being sent away frightened Cathy.

Omar's posture was rigid— immoveable. However, Cathy could see in his eyes that he understood her fear. The keeper nodded, acknowledging the he, too, was aware of this. "I won't send Juli or Doreen anywhere I promise. Besides with darkspawn on the loose, I doubt other clans will trust mages from other clans. "

For the first time, Cathy saw that the keeper did feel something. He was arrogant for sure, but at least he had a heart. Cathy nodded—thanking the mage for his generosity, since in the two-day ritual of Arlathvhen the Keeper was the on that spoke for the clan. If anyone could prevent a mage from being sent to another clan, in this case Doreen or Juli, it would be no one else other than the Keeper.

Cathy wheeled to exit the tent. The night had settled in already. The faint light of dusk was gone, and the serene cool of the night roamed about. She didn't know how to feel. Her son was a mage, and she was not sure she was willing to accept that. She found him hugging his knees. He thinks I'm mad at him, Cathy thought. The boy seemed to be mesmerized by the bow as it laid on the ground near his feet. She also noticed Tobias sat across him. Cathy's forlorn expression became at ease at the sight of Tobias. He was setting up a fire. For a moment, she admired and contemplated him. She wondered why he did what he did. Did it come from altruism? Was his heart so pure? Was it because he loved her? She truly didn't know and didn't care. The only thing important to Cathy was that she was grateful for Tobias. Her moment was interrupted as her eyes caught sight of the grimace Juli bared. She felt bad for making him feel so terrible, he really didn't deserve it. Andraste had given him a gift, and she wanted to take it away form him— she felt selfish. Besides, Cathy thought, Juli had been through so much— it wasn't fair, after losing his uncle and father, that she'd be so unreasonable about something that wasn't his fault. She felt a great tide of regret drench her in doubt. She sat next to him, and he didn't even notice she was next to him. She couldn't tell if he ignored her because he was upset or because it was dark. The moonlight was weak, and she could make the sagging figure of Juli hugging his knees tight— a boy afraid of his mother not accepting him because he's a mage. I'm I a terrible mother? The question lingered in her head and seemed to tingle every nook and cranny of her brain. Cathy was about to open her mouth to apologize, but then she was startled by the flame.

"Sorry." Tobias said, apologizing for igniting the unannounced fire.

Cathy noticed that, now that the fire was ablaze, Juli noticed Cathy had been sitting next to him. However, he was not startled by her presence, his face manifested a deep sorrow. What have I done? This is my son. This is my fault…

"I'm sorry Mother."

Cathy's eyes widened in utter shock. She embraced Juli in for a hug, "It's not your fault honey." Cathy shed tears. "It's not your fault." She took his face gingerly in her hands and fixed her wet eyes on him, "I don't care if you can do magic. I will always love you." She kissed his forehead.

Cathy noticed that Juli was perplexed by her behavior. He blinked as if he was probing the possibility of being in a dream and nodded.

Tobias stared awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Cathy smiled at him, "Our little mage," she tilted her head towards Juli, "is training with our keeper tomorrow." She glanced at Juli, and she could see the disbelief on his face. She softened her face for her beloved son. Then Juli saw that she was indeed being serious, and curtly nodded.

"That's great." Tobias said with uncertainty, as he was still not sure how to react to what he'd just witnessed.

Cathy gave him a look that said; _help me here._

Tobias shook off the visible heaviness and offered two paper plates to Juli and Cathy, "Here, you could use supper."

Indeed, Cathy needed food. It felt like she had not eaten anything through the day. Since this morning, her mind had taken so much in; Juli snuck out of the camp and Nick had died. Cathy felt the sorrow wash over her. Why did you have to go Nick? She noticed how Juli attacked his meat. He would bite his meat brusquely, peeling away leaving nothing but bone. He reminded her of Kurl and Nick. Juli was the only part left in this world of those two. And for that, she was grateful. She Smiled at her son, "Here honey, drink." She gave him the flask filled with water that hung from her neck.

Juli took it gratefully and drank from it. He gave it back to her, and she drank from it as well. Cathy couldn't hold her grin, and she almost chuckled, "Honey why don't you get some rest? Got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Juli nodded and got up to head for the tent.

"Come to school by noon tomorrow."

Juli gave her a unreadable look. He wasn't mad, just tired. He picked up his bow and went into the tent.

Cathy could see that Tobias squinted at her. His eyes became two small black bugs that roamed in the night near the fire.

"What?" Cathy asked, bewildered by Tobias' dubious look.

Tobias snapped, " Sorry. Just really surprised that you're letting Juli practice magic."

Cathy sighed, "Trust me, so am I." Cathy realized she had not touched her meat, and started gnawing at it.

"Why were you almost laughing before Juli went to sleep?" Tobias lifted a brow.

Cathy looked at the flames, as if the blaze her took her away. The fire, somehow, reminded her of Nick. The man was just as effulgent as the flame itself. Even if she didn't like it, he was always honest to her son. She'd always, in a bizarre way, appreciated that Nick did that for her. He had taken on the task to take care of Doreen, such a kind soul that man had. Nick was full of life. Cathy didn't think it was fair for someone that kindhearted to die at the hands of the foul darkspawn. She noticed Tobias stared at her, waiting for an answer. She tried to shake off her melancholy, "I was thinking of Nick." Her voice came out weak.

Tobias didn't say anything. It was if the name woke something inside of him. He stared at the fire— now they both stared at the blaze. "I'm sorry."

Cathy went up to his side, and her glossy eyes peered at him— as if she were looking for something. Tobias reciprocated the gesture and held his gaze as well. Cathy gingerly ran her hand down his face, "You have nothing to be sorry about." His skin was warm and soft. Being next to Tobias made her feel safe. Made her feel less _lonely._ Neither party had to say anything, Cathy could see in those black eyes that this man would be always there for her.


	25. Mana

Juli woke. Mother still slept. He still wondered why she became ok with him practicing magic with Omar. Was it so it to incentivize him to go to her lectures? He truly didn't know. He sat up on his cot. The grass smelled of dew as it was still wet from the rain of the previous day. He got to his feet, and noticed that the morning was young. The orange glow of the sun had a reddish hue, that's how early it was. As every morning, he felt heavy so he decided to head for the river. He picked up his gear as he was going to start training this morning with Doreen and Omar. Where were they training exactly? It's not like they had some archery yard like the one at the previous camp. Wait, is Omar teaching us archery or magic? Juli decided to not dwell into the questions, as his face felt wrinkled, all he wanted now was to wash it. He knelt on the edge of the crystal river and splashed his face with the water. As soon as the water touched his skin, the wrinkles vanished into his skin.

After washing his face, he'd figured he would head for Omar's tent. However, as he wheeled to head go back to the camp, in the middle of the vast open space between the camp and the river, he could make out three figures. As he neared them, he noticed one of them was Doreen. He could recognized Doreen's short russet hair from miles. He noticed Patrick's black head, him and the keeper talked. "How long do you think you'll take?"

Juli's bow told him that Patrick felt a great deal of respect for the keeper, however, Juli couldn't tell why. Omar had only met the man, and yet, they appeared to have become so close.

"On foot it would take us about a whole day. Perhaps two. So, if we don't get caught, a couple of days maybe."

Omar nodded somberly, and Patrick went off to the circle of magi. As Juli saw the man head into the camp, he noticed that Theresa accompanied him. Why was she going with him? He supposed it was to protect him. A simple blacksmith, Juli thought, is probably not adept at battle, like him and Doreen were. He could see the dread in Omar's eyes, as he fixed them on Patrick. It seemed as if this journey, even if it was just a couple of days, wouldn't be any easy. Juli glanced at Doreen, his bow still said nothing about her. He didn't know why, but he felt grateful that his bow, for some reason, couldn't tell him anything about Doreen. He trusted her, so he couldn't even imagine the thought of ever doubting her.

"First things first." Omar caught Juli and Doreen off guard, as they still gazed at Patrick and Theresa.

Juli turned and noticed that Omar's somber look hardened eve more, "Today, You'll learn how to control your mana. Juli," the keeper looked at him firmly, "mana is the source of your magic. It's what blood is to the heart, and what food is to people. It is a _primal_ part of you." Omar sat and gestured them to do the same.

"You want us to close our eyes and relax." Doreen said, as she glanced at Juli and chuckled.

Juli grinned at the reference of nostalgia— this was the same thing Uncle had done when he started training them as hunters. There was something Juli enjoyed about the way Doreen laughed. It was a cacophony that he found joviality seemed to have lingered for a moment until it abruptly was quelled by the sorrowful reality that Uncle was gone.

"Behave you two." Omar's tone was even, "Yes Doreen, you're half right. I do want you to relax, but keep your eyes wide open."

They looked at each other. Juli truly didn't know what the mage intended— he was till unclear as to what Omar meant by "controlling your mana." They both shared a shrug and did as they were told.

"Mana courses through your veins, just like blood. In order to control it, you'll have to feel it first. Focus on nothing. Push out any thoughts that may come about. Push them out, and you'll feel the mana rushing through you."

Focus on nothing? My uncle just died. As hard as it was, Juli tried. He caught a glimpse of Doreen and he could tell that she was having a hard time doing it. Uncle's death had been toughest on her, as he was like a second father to her. Juli noticed that Omar glared at him, he was staring at Doreen. He went back to his exercise, and _tried_ to push all the thoughts that came to him away. Somehow, all the thoughts left his mind and it was as empty as the desert. Nobody at the camp had woken, so the silence didn't encourage him to think of anything. The absence of everything felt a little hollow and disturbing. After he floated in nothingness for a moment, he felt a great flood _rushing_ through his veins— it was exhilarating. Now he felt the power of magic. Then, out of nowhere, a magenta orb floated in front of Juli at eye level.

"That's it Juli." Omar said fascinated and impressed, "That's your mana. Try to control it. Right now your body is trying to release all of it at once. _Don't_ let it. Try to get your mana back into your body, let it come to you."

Let it come to my body? I don't even know if I am making the thing float. Juli stared at Omar, puzzled by the instructions, "How do I do that?"

"I know you feel a void right now in your veins, fill it."

Omar was right. The flooding Juli had felt before was gone. He assumed, somehow, it manifested into the glowing mushy sphere that floated about. He opened his hands and carefully placed them on the blob, as if he was trying to catch it. Then, as soon as his hands neared the bubble, he felt it filling the void in his body. He felt the connection of the bow grow stronger. This thing, the mana as Omar called it, was empowering.

"Very good." Omar smiled— obviously pleased with Juli's success. He brought a lithe finger forth, "Now, the trick to mana is to use as little of it as possible. We mages, or people with magical bows, have a limited amount of mana. However, the real problem with mana is to know how to _distribute_ it." The keeper clearly knew the topic well, as his confidence was evident, "That current that you feel throughout your body," He gestured at Juli's arm.

Juli, regarding the gesture, examined his own body and nodded.

"you should only use a drop of that every time you use magic. It won't be easy." He made motion with his hand, pointing at Doreen, "She has been trying that for some time now and she still has issues with it."

Doreen looked down, as if ashamed of not doing well enough.

"That's ok." His voice softened, "It took me some time to master the technique. You two are smart, so you'll get it soon enough."

Omar's somber face came back, "Let's try it again."

Juli tried again— he dove into a hallow ocean of nothingness and only tiny streams of mana filled it at the seabed.


	26. Theodore

"…The Exalted March of the Dales was a holy war declared by the chantry against all elves across Thedas." Mother's tone became rigid and her eyes became gloomy, "They took everything away from us. However, we _Dalish_ will preserve the elven lore." Her tone was even, but now she spoke prideful, "No matter what empress Celene or the future nobility of Thedas thinks of us, we _Dalish_ shall not submit to the chantry."

All young eyes revered Cathy. They looked up to her as one looks up to an Andraste statue— with admiration and praise. As before, Juli sat on the middle of the first row and Doreen to his right. Juli peered around and noticed that his classmates had gotten older. It wasn't their physical size, as it had only been a few days since the last class at the previous camp. However, the expression on their faces was that of an adult. Their forlorn expressions were those of people who knew hardship and pain. Well, they did know hardship— just a few days ago they'd lost their home. They knew pain as well. Some of them had lost their parents the same Juli lost Father. Even though the gloom was in the air, the boy who wore spectacles and sat to Juli's left seemed to be more fascinated than anyone else to learn. The boy would raise his hand every two minutes, and seemed to know all of the answers. Juli felt a bit annoyed as the tanned skin boy reminded him of Omar, as he had the same air of pretentiousness that the keeper had.

The boy raised his hand again, of course, Juli thought, "Is it true that an Emerald Knight fell in love with a human girl and that was the whole reason for the war?"

Mother lowered her eyes, as if she too, felt annoyed by the boy, "Not exactly." She seemed to struggle to utter the words, "Yes an Emerald Knight fell in love with a human girl, but it's a little more complicated than that. It was the humans that came and _invaded_ our _peaceful_ land. They sent Templars to _force_ us to believe in the chantry's gibberish." The resentment that Mother felt for humans was palpable, " _That's_ what happened."

The Omar-like boy seemed to have considered Mother's answer, but then slowly nodded. Who does he thing he is to doubt Mother like that? Juli glared at him— he didn't like the know-it-all very much.

Mother clapped, "That's it for today."

Everyone got up, except for Juli and Doreen. They both stared at the smart boy whom was leaving and shared a gaze—the kid annoyed them both. As the boy got up, Juli realized that the boy looked younger than he was. How is he so smart?

"What's you name?" Doreen asked the limber kid as he wheeled to leave.

The boy almost jumped, he turned and flicked his eyes between Doreen and Juli— he seemed nervous, "I'm… Theodore."

Doreen smiled, got up and offered an open hand, "I'm Doreen."

The boy gave her a shy grin.

Juli stared at them, bewildered by what was happening. Does Doreen like this doofus?

The boy adjusted his glasses, "Bye." He turned around almost abruptly and went his way.

"Who is _that_ guy?" Juli didn't know why, but now that Doreen appeared to be fond of "Theodore," he felt that the boy was hostile. Am I Jealous? No, that's ridiculous. Is it?

"That's Omar's first."

The keeper's first was that mage that was the most powerful after the keeper.

Juli's jaw dropped open, "But he's so young?"

Doreen shrugged, "Beats me. Omar said Theodore discovered his magic just a few days ago, and that he is more powerful than the two of us combined." Doreen's words came out as a compliment.

"Aren't you a tiny bit jealous? I mean, I'm not a mage, so he's _your_ competition."

She seemed to have been bothered by the question, she put her fists on her hips, "No. Besides," she let her firm arms hang to her sides, "I wish I weren't a mage. I wish I could just grab a bow and shoot arrows. I wish I were a hunter, like you."

Juli understood her predicament. Even though he wasn't a mage, he felt the same way. He didn't love the idea of doing magic. However, with darkspawn on the loose, it was a handy ability. He stood and tried to meet her eyes, which sagged to the ground, "I know how you feel. But you have to admit that the fact that we froze darkspawn is pretty cool."

Doreen blurted out a small giggle, "Yeah, it is." She met Juli'd gaze and her eyes seem to search him now, as if there was a pot of gold on his face.

"Besides, you can ask Lou to make you a new bow."

Before either of them said anything, they heard a yelp. Juli ran towards his bow, which had been inside his tent. He tried calling it, but it didn't come to him. He kept running towards his tent, he needed to help whoever let out such a scream of agony. When he got to his tent, Mother was sitting in her cot. His eyes went from the bow to her.

She noticed the grimace on Juli's face and, as if Juli's fear had been contagious, she too grimaced, "What's wrong?"

He ignored her and grabbed his bow, but she gripped his arm as he turned to exit the tent to swoon into the danger and waited for an answer. "Darkspawn."

Mother's face was paralyzed by dread. Juli went his way.

"Juli!"

Juli left her shouts behind him, as the bow told him that this threat was far too great for him to not help. As he ran towards the outskirts of the camp, he noticed Omar stood tall brandishing his staff. Then, as he neared Omar, he saw it; a _horde_ of darkspawn surrounded the camp. If one were to look at the camp from above, one could probably mistake it for a black hole closing in as the corrupted beings sucked everything with their black plague.

"What do we do?" Juli asked Omar, his voice was filled with utter despair and dread.

Omar's face was resolute, "We fight."

Juli had never seen the keeper like this— his arrogance personality seemed to have vanished. Juli heard someone coming form behind, and wheeled to point his bow at whatever threat came upon him. However, when he turned around, he saw that it was not a threat— it was Doreen and every hunter of the camp came forth to fend for their land. The darkspawn were closing in, step by step as if the fang-baring creatures enjoyed the horrified faces that their victims made.

"Everybody get back." Omar told everyone, gesturing with his arm for everyone to not attack.

"Omar, you cannot take them on your own. There is too many of them." Shannon was ready to fight with bow at the ready. However, she saw the relentlessness expression and stepped back behind the Keeper as he asked her to.

Omar nodded, "Just trust me."

For a moment Shannon stared at the Keeper with sheer wonder. So did everyone else. All faces winced with confusion. Eventually they all crouched. In such dire situation, if the clan were to trust anyone, it would be the Keeper.

Then a green glow engulfed the camp. A green sphere that covered the whole camp. Omar stared at the darkspawn, as if he was studying the creatures that now stopped trudging towards them.

"Why did they stop?" Juli asked Omar, confused by the green glow and tranquility that he saw in the darkspawn.

Omar still stared at the darkspawn, as if he wasn't sure if they would come and still attack, "Because we are invisible."

Juli now noticed that a green glow covered Omar's staff as well. An invisibility spell? Juli didn't know if to be impressed or horrified by the Keeper's abilities, however, he was grateful that the darkspawn seemed to have fallen for it. They turned around and went their way. Omar's green sphere was gone and the mage's whole body trembled, but caught him self in half-fall by gripping his staff. The Keeper's face was all exhaustion as he breathed heavily and beads of sweat covered his face. The spell got the most out of him.

The boy with the spectacles rushed up to Omar. He gestured the keeper to sit. Omar seated and stared at the boy in utter astonishment, as did everyone else. Theodore opened his small hands and let them hang above the weary mage's body. Then, a bright red aura illuminated the boy's palms. Was he _restoring_ Omar's mana?

The Keeper's heaving stopped and he got up rather energetic.

"Thank you." Omar dabbed dust off his white robe, it was as if he'd had never felt any fatigue in the first place.

The boy nodded. The boy was indeed healing the keeper. Theodore was, with no doubt, _very powerful._

Everyone looked at Omar with dread. Now the hysteria was back, and every single face looked around them, as if the creatures might come back for them. However, the darkspawn never came.

"We must be ready for the worst." Omar said, his pretentious voice came back.

As if they had awakened from a nightmare, they looked at Omar with disbelief.

The bow told Juli that Omar was drowning in fear. Even though his face was neutral, the bow told him that Omar felt more dread than anyone else in the camp. It made sense, these people were counting on him to defend them. The sheep put everything on the shepherd.

The keeper was about to open his mouth to speak, but as if frozen in time, his jaw never closed when he heard a wail of pain. The same shout Juli had heard before. The scream came from Lou's working table, and all eyes darted in that direction. Then underneath it, the dagger-carrier lay on a pool of blood.

Omar hurried to the man, and frantically gestured Theodore to come with him. Lou's right leg had been dug into deeply. The wound was a cavity that went from knee to ankle. His whole body contorted in pain— he could barely move.

Omar's First got to work. Can he really fix him? The wound was deep to the bone. And as soon as the boy started doing his magic, the gash started weaving as easy as a needle sewing a torn peace of cloth. All faces gawked at the boy, whose face was as meek and timid as ever. Then, the wound was gone, as it had never been there. Lou, dumbstruck by what the boy had done, got up, "Andraste's breath! Thank you kid."

The boy nodded curtly. Lou got up and looked all around him, as if he could not believe that the darkspawn were gone, "Where are they? There was a herd of darkspawn about just now." Lou's voice was a blend of anxiety and dread.

"DOWN!"

Juli drew one of his arrows, and the onyx shaft lightened itself with blue flames.

 _fum._

The arrow thrusted through the middle of the darkspaawn's corrupted eyes and came out from the back of its skull. The darkspawn became a blue blaze that, if it weren't for its foul blackness, could be confused by the clear blue sky. It creaked sickly, a groan so thunderous that Juli's ears hurt. Then, after futile struggles to put out the flames, it fell limp to the ground.

Now everyone looked at Juli with awe. Everyone except _Mother._ Where was Mother? His eyes frantically peered through the crowd, and he couldn't find her.

"They took Catherine."

Juli's eye widened and were filled of frustration, "What!"

Lou nodded apologetically, "They came after her. I couldn't save her. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Lou's eyes swelled up with tears.

Juli ran. He ran to get the darkspawn. No, they won't take _Mother_ too. However, as he neared the exit of the camp, his body was stopped…by some kind of _wall._ Omar. The keeper's invisible barrier was somehow still active. Not now you arrogant bastard.

"Break the damn spell Omar!"

The keeper said nothing back.

You won't open it, fine. Then I would do it myself. He reached into his quiver, but his hand hung inside the quiver— he'd had used all of his arrows. If I can't use arrows, that's fine. He trudged towards the mage as he clenched his fists and dropped his bow. He was surprised to see that Doreen got in front of Omar and extended her arms, her expression was determined.

"Juli, come down." Doreen said evenly.

He squinted his eyes at her, "How could _you_ of all people tell me to calm down. They took Mother!"

Doreen lowered her head. She awkwardly stood there until Omar stepped forth, "What do you intend? Go on solo and save her by yourself?"

"And what do you propose I do? Stay here and do nothing!" Juli's voice was muffled by frustration and agony.

Omar deeply pleaded, "Juli, please wait until Patrick gets back. We don't know what type of menace we are facing."

His demeanor was even more defiant then he intended it to be, "Wait wait wait wait wait and wait. That's all you can do." His eyes went up and down about the keeper, "Keeper." he snorted, "Keeper of nothing, that's what you are."

"Don't talk to him like that." Doreen's tone was rigid.

Juli didn't want to meet Doreen's gaze, as he didn't want unleash his anger on Doreen. He tried to put his anger away for her, "What I'm I supposed to do?'

Doreen lowered her eyes— she didn't know what he should do.

"She's alive." Omar's solemn voice punctuated the awkward silence between Doreen and Juli. "They're holding her and Tobias captive for some reason."

This time, Juli didn't care how in the world the keeper knew this— all that mattered was that Mother was safe, at least for now. Everything was so overwhelming that Juli swooned.


	27. The Darkspawn

Juli laid across from Mother. Her wrists were constrained with shackles. So were her feet. The chains went from her wrist and feet to a wall behind her. The room was barely lit by torches on the concrete walls that bared a green flame. Juli was restrained as well. Mother's head hung limp as if she just stared at the ground. Her black hair cascaded to the ground as a black waterfall.

"Mother." Juli's voice echoed throughout the room. She said nothing.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, insolent child." A familiar voice came from everywhere. He heard wet steps. At first the steps were faint, but then they got louder. As he recognized the direction from where they came from, his eyes darted in that direction. From the dim light, he was able to make out an arched entrance that led to a set of stairs that went up. Someone came down the stairs, their boots making that wet noise Juli heard before. He still didn't know how, but the figure that came through the arched entrance looked familiar. As the man approached him, he couldn't fully see whom he was looking at. However, the green glow gave way to see half of his face. The red beard was, with not doubt, _Father's._ No that can't be him. It _can't_ be.

"Father, is that really you?" His voice was all hope and mirth.

For a moment, the red-bearded man stood there as if hesitating to come forth.

"That fool is dead." The man came forth, however, this was indeed Father. His reddish tanned skin on his face was the same as Father's. How can this be? Did Father have a twin? If he did, he never told Juli or Mother for that matter.

"Whoever you are, please, " he lifted his hands, gesturing to the constraints, "get us out of here."

The man grinned, baring _sharp unnatural_ teeth. He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, as if considering Juli's plead. "I don't think so."

Is he mad?

The madman approached Juli. There was a certain stench that came form him. He squatted next to Juli. This close, Juli was able to confirm that this person looked _exactly_ like Father. However, something _felt_ different about him. Then the green blaze lit the whole body; except for its face, the whole body had the same foul unnatural blackness that the darkspawn had. This was a darkspawn. But why did its face look _identical_ to Father?

It tried to caress Juli's hair with its _claws._ "Little hunter," the talons were as cold as ice, "when you wake up, you tell that scabby keeper that I want you here by yourself. Capeesh? That is, " it turned its head to look at Mother, "if you want to see that skank alive, you come here by _yourself. And,_ " the relaxed attitude of the vile thing was uncanny, "perhaps I _might_ spare her."

Juli was in sheer shock. Little hunter? That's what _Father_ used to call me. He tried to meet the gaze of the despicable creature, "Who are you?" His voice drowned in fear.

The creature stood. Its bones made a crackling sound. It walked casually towards Mother. What does he think he's doing? Juli looked at the creature with determination, "Get your hands off her!" Juli tried to get up and charge at the creature, but the chains wouldn't even let him stand.

It ignored Juli and pulled Cathy's head up by her hair. That sinister grin of his came back. "And what would you do boy?" It scoffed. "If your daddy couldn't beat me, what makes you think you stand a chance?"

Mother cried and moaned, as it pulled her hair from her scalp. Juli wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't— he wasn't in _control._ The _nightmare_ was back. Was it a nightmare? It felt so _real._ The creature ran a long nail along Mother's face, "What do you think, should I kill the bitch?" It seemed to be taking joy in this.

Juli's throat became a knot as he couldn't utter any words, not that he wanted to answer the awful question the vile creature had asked him. He still couldn't remove his eyes from seeing Cathy being tortured. A pool of tears filled up under his eyes and he started sobbing.

"Shush!" It widened its eyes; they were _absolutely_ white. Two golf balls inside its eye sockets. Its claw still pulled at Mother's hair; the more she cried, the more he pulled. Juli wanted to close its eyes but he couldn't. The scenery of Cathy in pain and the creature tugging at her hair became a swirl. Suddenly, Doreen's face was all his eyes could see; short brown hair and big green eyes.

"He's awake!" Doreen's eyes sparkled with joy.

She held Juli's head and helped him stand.

"Where is Mother?" He asked anxiously as if she was supposed to be in front of him like before, "She was right in front of me!"

Doreen lowered her eyes as if she didn't want to say anything. Juli pressed in, he tried to shake the tall girl by her shoulders, "Father has Mother!"

"Juli come down." Omar's voice came evenly from behind Doreen.

Juli's eyes fixed on him with plead, "He has Mother. Father has Mother!" Not even Juli could believe what he was saying. Was that Father? or Was that a darkspawn that looked like Father? Was it really a nightmare? He noticed that everyone on the camp stared at him— dumbstruck by Juli's frustration. His gaze focused on the keeper, "I saw it! Father is a darkspawn!"

Omar gently placed his hands on Juli's shoulders, "You're gonna have to calm down." His voice even.

Juli hadn't realized how anxious he was as Doreen shed tears from how hard he shook her. He let go of her and lowered his head. He breathed heavily and his nostrils flared. Omar gestured Juli and Doreen to follow him. The three of them entered the keeper's tent. Juli and Doreen sat down on the cot that was on the left side, and Omar sat on the one on the right side. He would glance at Doreen with shame as he was embarrassed that he may have _hurt_ her. She wouldn't look at him as she looked at the ground and hugged her shoulders. Was she afraid of me? He wanted to apologize, but before he spoke, the keeper started his questioning.

"You said you saw Kurl and Cathy?" Omar lifted a brow.

Juli nodded.

The keeper's eyes furrowed as he pondered this. "You saw this in your dreams?"

Juli shrugged, "I think it was a dream. But it felt so real."

Omar considered this, he seemed to be having a hard time believing Juli's claims, "Have you had dreams of this sort before?"

Indeed he had had dreams of this sort— the nightmares. For a moment he bucked remembering the witch and stabbing the girl that looked like Doreen. He didn't need to say anything; his contorted face told Omar that this wasn't the first nightmare he'd had with demons in it.

"It's the magic." Omar snapped. His eyes flicked between his two apprentices as if he was unsure to say more. "There's something you two should know." His expression uncertain if they were ready for the harsh truth, "We mages, " he glanced at Juli, "or any kind of magic wielders, are vulnerable to being in contact with demons. What you saw, is what the demon _wanted_ you to see, and for that reason, we can't know whether it's true or not."

Juli's hopes of Mother being alive were crushed by this new piece of knowledge. However, he remembered what the horrendous said: "If you want to see that skank alive, you come here by _yourself._ " Juli cringed of hatred for the creature for calling Mother that horrible thing.

"Are you well?" The keeper said concerned for the possibility of Juli being in contact with the demon in that instant.

Juli shook off the unpleasant memory, "The darkspawn, or whatever it was, that looked like Father, said that he would spare Mother if I went to him."

Omar grimaced, "By yourself?"

He glanced at Doreen whom was just as concerned as the keeper was. His expression was resilient as he didn't need to speak to let Juli know that he would not agree to this.

Juli got up and snapped, "They've got Mother, and we are going to do _nothing_ about it." His tone was as defiant as the hissing of a deadly serpent as it approaches its victim.

"If this demon said that he wants you, then he won't do anything to Cathy."

"You propose to use Mother to buy time?"

Omar's expression was neutral, however, Juli knew that was exactly what he was implying. Before Juli could reproach the keeper once more, their quarrel was interrupted by a commotion outside.


	28. Quinn

When Juli steeped outside of the tent, Templars were roaming about the camp. Five of them fully armored and on horses. Omar cautiously walked up to one of the templars, "What's your business here?" Juli could tell that while the keeper was not fond of templars, he was trying to be polite towards them.

"I can ask you the same thing." The templar's tone was contemptuous."What are you knife ears doing in the Hinterlands?"

From behind the keeper, Juli could see how Omar clenched his fists. Juli couldn't see the look on his eyes, but he was sure that the mage wanted nothing more than to slit the templar's throat. Could he? Omar was very powerful.

"These poor bastards have nothing on them." A templar said as he came out from one of the tents.

Omar grimaced, "What is this?" he demanded.

The templar that regarded Omar before got off his horse and intensely peered at Omar, the armored human sniffed deeply, "I smell too much magic here. Are you sure you're the only mage here, keeper?" Omar's eyes widened with fear. Juli was behind him, but he assumed that if Omar could tell Juli to hide he would. Juli glanced at Doreen, and gestured that they both hide. They took backward steps back to return to the the tent.

"Stop right there you two." As if the human's word was a spell, Doreen and Juli were frozen with dread.

The templar tried walking towards them, however, the keeper stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder, "What do you think you're doing?" That resilient tone of Omar was back— he was ready to fight.

The templar stepped back casually, "By the power the chantry bestows upon me," his voice was sheer authority, "those two _apostate_ mages shall be escorted back to the Circle of Magi."

"It doesn't have to be this way." Omar warned him, as if the keeper still had some hope that they would just leave.

The templar unsheathed his sword and his face was steel, "But it _will_ be this way." As if on cue, the other five templars drew their swords and unmounted their horses. Omar was surrounded by them. However, the keeper was not afraid as the Templars surrounded him, brandishing their shiny swords at him. The keeper grinned wryly, "Do you fools have any idea of where I came from?"

"Why would we care for such things?" The human's tone was all contempt.

"I don't know. Because, perhaps _many_ templars have faced them and _none_ have survived?" His sarcasm was obvious.

With a great growl, a Templar charged at him. However, Omar stood still, as if waiting for the Templar to come to him. Is he nuts? When the Templar was at arm's length from the keeper, a lighting bolt stroke the Templar, hurling him across the camp. When the Templar skidded across the green ground, his shield made a clatter as it awkwardly hit the grass. Omar's staff smoked from the spell, as he brandished it defiantly at the other Templars.

"You'll pay for that!" The five templars charged at him. Swords and shield in front of them as they ran towards the keeper. As they got near Omar, a sphere of green surrounded the mage. Was he making himself invisible again? No, he was not invisible as the Templars kept charging at him. When one of them tried to break through the green barrier with his sword, he was hurled across the camp, just like the lightning threw the other Templar. One by one they kept trying to break the frontier, and failed at doing so as they were slapped by it.

Juli had thought that the malicious beings had had enough and that they'll be on their way. However, each one of them got up and looked as if nothing had happened. Were they even people? One of them walked casually towards Omar and licked blood that ran down from his nose, "Is that all you got keeper?"

For all the confidence Omar had, he looked weary. However, his expression was as resolute as before, "No, come and get more."

Once more, the angry Templar charged at him. However, Juli caught sight of an arrow flying across the air and going through the Templar's glabella and, for a moment, the armored knight stood still staring at his attacker whilst red blood splattered from his mouth. The arrow did not go through as the the back of the Templar's head was protected by his helmet.

"Asshole." The fierce woman said as she looked at the Templar falling limp to the ground, lifeless.

Shannon did not hesitate to draw another arrow from her black quiver, and shot swiftly at another Templar. For a split second, Juli marveled the way the woman wielded her bow. She clearly had no magical abilities like Doreen and Juli, however, her level of skill was far beyond theirs. Now that her element of surprise was gone, the other Templars had their shields at the ready. Shanon's arrows were useless against the flat metal surface, as they rebounded off it. The five remaining templars charged towards Shannon and Omar, flourishing their shields.

If Juli hadn't known Shannon before, he wouldn't recognize her now as her face was as defiant as Omar's, "Daggers." She stated. She threw her bow to the side and Lou passed her his daggers. She can fight with daggers too? Juli had to admit that the woman was one kind of a hunter. She didn't wait for the Templars to come to her as she charged towards them with daggers at the ready. The woman leapt to the air, and came down hard on the Templar at front. The momentum took the Templar to the ground, dagger against sword clashed as the human tried to get Shannon off him. Another Templar tried to charge at Shannon, but a beam of ice froze him in mid-assault. He noticed Doreen's hand was open in front of her, and a white puff billowed from her palm. Where is my bow? Out of arrows, right. He felt helpless, and stood still spectating the gory fight. Juli felt a gauntleted hand grip him from behind. He tried to buck the grip, but it was just too strong for him.

"One more step, and the boy dies!" The merciless human pressed his shiny sword against Juli's neck. Its sharp edge tickled his gorge. Juli's heart starting pounding. Is this the end?

The whole camp looked at the Templar with dread. The whole camp except for Omar, his face was as rigid as before, "Let the boy go!" He demanded.

The Templar pressed the sword even harder and Juli felt a pinch. A trickle of blood ran down the shiny saber. The Templar was ready to kill Juli, without hesitation. Mother was right; humans are merciless beasts who think that their status justifies their cruelty. Just like this Templar, he thinks just because I'm an "apostate" mage, he can end my life. Juli's heart swelled with fear and closed his eyes— he was sure that this was his last moment. He prayed to Andraste:

 _Take care of Mother._

He shed tears, expecting the blade to get it all over with. However, the sword never came. In fact, the Templar never had a hold of him anymore. He heard a great groan of pain. Freed of the human, he turned around to witness all the Templars constrained by a red halo that squeezed at their waists. It squeezed so hard that he heard bones crackle.

Omar and Theodore stood tall in front of them. The boy with the spectacles hung his hands above the gagged Templars, that red powerful aura coated his hands. Juli didn't know who to fear more: Theodore or the Templars. Omar crouched next to them, "You _will_ to tell us what's going on?" The keeper's tone was even.

The Templar, which bared a black pointy beard spat on Omar's face. Juli assumed that was their leader as the man looked like the oldest of the unit.

"Fine." Omar made a motion to regard Theodore.

The aura on the timid boy's hands grew brighter and the halo pressed even harder on the Templars, staining the glowing magical ring with crimson blood.

"I'll bloody tell you!" The youngest of the five Templars blurted out as he gave a louder cry of pain than the other Templars had given afterwards.

"Hendrix, shut your hole!" Said the one that had spat on Omar's face.

Omar quickly slapped him across the face and gestured Theodore to stop squeezing in the halo. The Keeper regarded the younger Templar that had spoken, "Speak." He said hopefully.

The young Templar gathered himself as the pain, from all the blood the Templars had spilled, seemed unbearable. He snarled and heaved, but finally got his bearings, "There's a witch…." The leader shot the young-willing Templar a glare of disapproval, however, he continued, "There's a witch here in the Hinterlands." Omar nodded, confirming the fact but also expectant of more information.

The Templar appeared hesitant, for just a moment, but he divulged the information. "She plans to bring intelligent darkspawn to the surface."

The keeper winced. "Intelligent?" He said the word slow, as a child will say a word when learning it.

"That's what the chantry calls them. Since they seem to know so much elven magic."

"Elven?" The keeper and the whole clan were taken aback by this. Omar lifted a brow, "and you people think that my clan has something to do with this witch you speak of?"

"It's not just the witch." The bit of hesitation came back to the Templar as he glanced as his comrades, however, like before, he spoke, "There's a darkspawn, that we believe is of elven origin. He's been training the darkspawn as hunters."

Omar's aggressive and arrogant demeanor was replaced by fear as Juli could almost tell his body quavered. The keeper turned to look at Juli and with that look, he knew exactly what the keeper was trying to tell him: _Kurl is the darkspawn the Templar speaks of._

Dread washed over Juli— his dream had been _real._ Does this mean Father is evil? Or that's just a demon that has possessed him? The questions made Juli shiver. The thought of Father doing harm was unbearable. Juli nodded with his eyes. Omar turned his attention back to the Templar. The keeper seemed to be considering this as he rubbed his chin. "You happen to know where this witch is?" He asked curiously.

"Hendrix…" The leader was cut off by Omar's stark glare.

The young Templar's hesitation seemed to have vanished, "We believe she is near an entrance of the Deep Roads. The cave is north from here."

Omar appeared to be pondering something. He would gaze at Juli and Doreen, and then at the Templars. His eyes danced back and forth. What is that mage thinking? Juli could see the spark of hope in the keeper's eyes, "It seems that we have a common enemy then."

As everyone started realizing what Omar was suggesting, all eyes fixated on him. Is he suggesting we work with Templars? Is Omar really going to trust these Templars that nearly killed us?

Even though all eyes looked at him dubiously, he ignored the mumbled amongst the clan and continued with the insane plan, "Two of our own were taken by darkspawn…"

"I'll help you!" The young Templar didn't think twice to accept.

"The Maker won't forgive your treachery Hendrix!" Despite Omar's scowl, the leader spat on the ground. It was as if the gesture meant disdain towards his partner.

Omar fixed his eyes on the young Templar. He still wasn't sure if to trust the Templar. The keeper regarded Theodore and made a wave motion with his hand. The shy boy looked hesitant, however, Omar nodded and the boy started his magic once more.

At first Juli thought the Templars would receive more pain from the halo, however, as soon as the boy's hands started glowing brighter with red, Omar offered a hand to the young Templar and helped him stand. His body, somehow, just seemed to have gone _through_ the ring. That was why Theodore had been so reluctant about Omar's orders— he wasn't sure if to free this Templar. However, the young Templar stood in front of Omar. The knight still held his sword and shield. Everyone gawked at the scene; it was something one never saw every day, Juli had never heard of any truces between Templars and Dalish clans, let alone mages. The two factions had been each other archenemy for as long as Juli could remember. Nevertheless, it felt as if history was going to be made.

Omar's expression was neutral, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Everyone, including the gagged Templars, stared in utter bewilderment. The Templar dropped his shield and sword, the heavy gear made a one-time clatter. The Templar grinned and gazed at Omar, "The human and the elven woman just told me of the anomalies, I came as soon as I could." The Templar's voice sounded different. Before, his voice had been rigid and husky, now, it was thin like Omar's.

Juli's head spun— he wasn't sure if he was having another nightmare. Why were this Templar and Omar talking so casually?

Multiple blue halos started revolving around the Templar. At first everybody's eyes peered at Theodore, but he too, stared at the blue rings that viciously wrapped around the Templar, whose face was… _changing._ His face went from blonde to utter black. His face became thinner. His silver pauldrons vanished. His entire protective armor was replaced by a black _robe._ A staff appeared in the Templar, or whatever he was' right hand. The staff was white and it gripped a teal tiny diamond on top.

"What did you do to Hendrix!" The leader Templar shook of rage.

The staff-holding Templar caressed his hair, making a gesture of exasperation "Ugh. So annoying." The mysterious Templar snapped his fingers, and, as if by magic, the grumpy Templar didn't go on with his rant.

Omar threw his arms to the air, "It's so good to see you old friend!"

The keeper embraced the Templar in a hug. And that's when Juli saw it; the mage had pointy ears. This wasn't a Templar, it was an _elven mage._ Omar pulled away from the embrace, and gestured everyone, "This is Quinn."

Quinn bowed, "My apologies everyone." The mage had the same air of regality as Omar, however, Quinn didn't have the arrogant tone the keeper had, "I know I caused some disturbance. I hope you understand that fooling these Templars was the only way to escape the tower."

"Where is Patrick and Theresa?" Omar asked anxiously.

One of the Templars let out a loud chuckle, "You mean that elven bitch?" His tone had sprinkles of pride in it, "I had a piece of the whore myself—"

 _fum._

An arrow struck the Templar's leg. The wooden shaft turned to red with all the blood that poured from his waste, and now, his shin. All eyes fixed on Erick, the angered hunter trudged towards the ill-willed Templar.

The young hunter crouched, "What did you do to Theresa?" The hunter's eyes burned the Templar with hatred.

The Templar started laughing manically. However, the hunter gripped the arrow and twisted it deeper into flesh, replacing the guffaw by a cry of pain. Quinn placed a hand on the hunter's shoulder, "she's alive, kid."

Erick got up, his eyes still full of disgust towards the Templar, and he kicked the human in the gut. He quickly turned his attention to Quinn, "Where is she?" The hunter seemed to care so much for the woman.

"Lies! I saw the bitch die!" One of the Templars bellowed.

Erick glared at him.

"I made them think that they killed her." Quinn tried to tame the agitated blonde hunter, "She's not far from here."

"Where exactly?" Erick's tone was rigid and adamant.


	29. The Nightmares

A dark blue sky filled with stars cast the night. Erick brought Theresa and Patrick back on one of the horses the Templars galloped in. The firm woman had a gash in her forehead. She'd had lost so much blood that, even though her skin tone was almost brown, she looked white from the lack of blood. On the other hand, Patrick didn't have a single scratch on him as, Juli assumed, Theresa defended the human with her life. Why? It's not that Juli wanted harm for the human, but he had to admit, that most Dalish elves would not care that much for the life of a human. However, the human did prove to be useful on their short trek to the Circle of Magi. He brought a brown bag filled with crafting materials.

When Theresa saw the Templars, the woman kicked one of them right in the jaw. Blood drizzled from his mouth. The woman wanted to beat him more, however, her exhaustion was too great. After the kick, Theresa fell backwards— that kick took all of the energy she had left. No one made any effort to stop her. Juli noticed that she kicked the same Templar that Erick shot in the leg with the arrow. Juli was impressed and scared by the fact that the bearded Templar was still alive after all that.

Everyone gathered around a small fire that emitted a yellow glow across everyone's face. Omar and Quinn sat across from each other, the level of trust between the two was obvious. One mage baring a black robe, and the other a white one. It was like looking at two great pillars; one white and one black, balancing the evil and good in the world. Everyone peered at the two as the pair talked with such camaraderie, "how did you get through my invisibility spell?" It was hard to tell if Omar complemented Quinn or he was only asking.

"Have you forgotten who taught you _everything_ you know?" Quinn asked with a grin.

"Fair enough." The keeper's face wrinkled into a serious one. Omar tilted his head, pointing to the Templars that were now gagged by a rope and not a magical ring, "they know the whereabouts of this witch?"

"More than likely. You know that the Chantry will keep everything between them and their precious Templars." Omar's partner turned his attention toward Juli, "We will get your mother, I promise."

So much had happened that Juli had almost forgotten that Cathy had been taken by darkspawn. He nodded. He didn't know what to do, he was out of arrows. So going to on his own to get Mother would be useless. He felt frustrated and livid that Omar wasn't doing anything about it. He abruptly leapt to his feet, "Please. Mother or Tobias cannot die. " His voice was muffled.

Everyone looked at Juli, and as if his sorrow had been contagious, everyone lowered their heads and got lost in thought. The whole clan had gone through so much. Losing their home, facing the darkspawn, losing Nicholas, being accosted by Templars. If that wasn't enough, Kurl, someone whom they loved and respected, was training an army of darkspawn with who knows what intentions. However, they all knew that the darkspawn, when they were on the surface, only had one goal: start a Blight. At this point Thedas had survived five Blights, however, at a great cost. In the past, the black plague would spread at an exponential rate, eventually bringing to the surface their "Old Gods." These Gods are manifested upon the world as dragons tainted by darkspawn corruption. Just like the darkspawn, these dragons, or archdemons, will corrupt and eliminate everything on their path.

"Omar tells me that you had a dream about your Mother being captured?" Quinn asked evenly.

Why does everybody keep asking me about the stupid nightmares? His face involuntarily contorted as flashes of the terrible dream came about: Mother shackled…Father…turned into a darkspawn and torturing Mother…the cold long talon on his face.

With the face Juli made, Quinn knew Juli did not enjoy remembering the "dream." "I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable. It's just…" Quinn softened his tone, "It's just we could really use any information on these darkspawn…"

Juli snapped. "If it'll help you get Mother back, then I'll tell you about this nightmare, and even the other ones." Juli couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth, however, he was willing to do _anything_ for Mother's sake.

Omar seemed to be taken aback by this, as Juli never told him about these other nightmares.

Quinn nodded solemnly. "Was the witch in any of these nightmares, by any chance?"

For a moment, silence lingered in the air. A silence punctuated by the crackle of the burning twigs. Juli took a heavy breath, trying to bear the image of the psychotic witch, "In the first one, she laughed at me…" He swallowed hard, "she laughed at me while I cried for Father after he died."

The silence filled the camp again and the crackle of the twigs got louder. All eyes peered at Juli with empathy. Quinn and Omar looked at him with fascination. They looked at him as if he were lecturing them on a very hard subject. He hesitated to keep going and his eyes glanced at Doreen, as if he didn't want her here for what came next. _Please Doreen, cover your ears, cover your ears_. He waited, as if his incantations will make Doreen deaf for the next two minutes. Nevertheless, the chant did not work as she was still attentive— waiting for him to divulge the details of his second nightmare. "In the second one…" his eyes glanced at Doreen once more, "I was riding a horse." Everyone's face was unreadable, however, he could feel the bewilderment they went through. Even to him, the "riding a horse nightmare" sounded like the beginning of a joke. Yet, he knew that this nightmare was nowhere near a joke. He fixed his eyes on Doreen, "Everything was dark and I just galloped through. I was wearing armor." He cocked his head, regarding the Templars,"I had a sword and protective shiny armor, like a Templar. I never have control in these nightmares." He turned to Quinn and he nodded, as if he expected this, "Then, after riding for a while, I saw a girl sitting near a tree." His eyes turned to Doreen. "She looked exactly like you."

Doreen's eyes went wide. Those green beautiful emeralds on her eye sockets sparkled with wonder.

"I got off the horse. Then I walked up to the girl. I lifted the sword, involuntarily." His eyes pleaded Doreen for forgiveness, "Then I killed her." Juli saw how her face turned into a grimace.

"Doreen that wasn't Juli in his nightmare." Omar quickly said. Trying to appease her.

She nodded slowly. However, Juli could see the sparkle of her eyes obscured— she looked a bit dreadful, Juli thought.

The fascinated mages were still waiting for him to finish the telling of his ordeals. These two have issues. "After that, she started laughing. Just like the witch in the first nightmare."

The confusion in all of the faces was obvious. Even Quinn and Omar looked at each other, as if one looked for the explanation of this on the other. They turned back to Juli.

He went on with his third ordeal, "Then earlier today, I'm in front of Mother. We were both chained to the wall." He was trying his best to prepare to tell them about Father being a darkspawn, as he still didn't want to believe that Father called Mother all of those names. And even tortured her. His face contorted, "A darkspawn that looked _exactly_ like Father kept us both prisoners. He then said that if I want to see Mother alive again, I'll have to go to him by _myself._ " His eyes fixated on Omar as he said that last word.

"I didn't let you go because it's dangerous that you go by yourself. Let alone, without the appropriate training. And for now, Cathy is safe. I can feel her presence."

Quinn chimed in, "Omar is right. It sounds that we're dealing with some kind of demon that, somehow, has conjured itself into your Father. And because of that, we need to show you how to not let this thing posses you."

Juli was still perplexed by what Omar said: "…feel her presence." His eyes looked quizzically at the keeper, "How can you feel her presence?"

"It's more than that kid." Quinn interjected once more, "You see, in order to protect the clan the keeper will cast a protective spell on every member that will make him or her immune to any demon doings."

Wasn't this mage from the Circle of Magi? How does he know so much about Dalish clans, let alone things about the keeper Juli hadn't known until now.

Omar nodded, reassuring Quinn's claim. The keeper adjusted himself on the log he was sitting on, "Since we have time, we need to train you in the meantime. And you too." He regarded Doreen, "You both need to know how to defend yourself against demons. We're going to need all the help we can get."

"You plan to take an army of darkspawn by yourselves? You're nuts." Patrick interjected.

Quinn gave him a sneer, it looked almost sinister, "Of course not. We have some friends that will help us."

Everyone was puzzled by Quinn, except Omar, whose face was a blend of dread and excitement, "You don't mean?"

"I do mean my friend. The Grey Wardens will help us on our quest."


	30. Her

It was Juli's twelfth birthday. A birthday he was forced to spend without Mother or Father. Juli had been born on the Summer Solstice. Cathy always said that, since the sun was at its highest peak, Juli was blessed by the shiny star. He'd always cherished that Mother would remind him of that every birthday, even though as he'd gotten older he started realizing he wasn't _literally_ "blessed." Still, he wished Mother were here to lie to him. Even if her lies bothered him at times, he felt, in a bizarre way, almost comforted by them.

Juli sat on the shore of the river. He stared across the horizon: the sun was just rising. Saffron rays were about his face. He'd had a good night sleep—no nightmares. Omar insisted that Quinn slept on Juli's tent. Juli payed no mind to it, until Omar's old friend started snoring. The man was so loud while sleeping that Juli had to put a peace of cloth in Quinn's mouth. To his surprise, the mage didn't even notice the rag in his mouth. After that, no nightmares came about, and he slept without any trouble. Despite it being so early, when Juli woke up everyone was doing something. Hunters were setting up new scoring rings. Patrick and Lou worked hard on crafting new arrows and weapons. The Templars agreed to help, not that they had much of a choice. Quinn cast a spell on them that would not allow any of them to harm anyone from the camp. While Theodore's magical ring had wounded them severely, the humans seemed to have enough strength to help around. They were helping the hunters put up the scoring rings. Theodore, the boy sweated profusely after he lifted the ring spell off the Templars. He was so exhausted that after his hands stopped glowing he almost fell to ground were it not for Omar catching him. Juli felt bad for the kid, so _young_ and yet so _powerful._ He wondered if Theodore liked being a mage. Juli didn't hate magic, however, that didn't mean he loved it either.

"Happy birthday." A smooth voice came from behind him.

Juli turned to see who it was; her green eyes shimmered as the orange light of the sun struck them. Her figure was all tall and royal as her white robe hovered above her heels. Her short brown hair was loose and bright, it cascaded down to cover the top-half of those big ears.

Doreen walked towards him, there was something benevolent about her gait. She gathered her robe and sat next to Juli.

Juli grinned, "You're an official mage now; robe and everything. Just need a staff."

She playfully nudged him, "Stop."

He could see Doreen wanted to tell him something.

For a moment, they both stared at the sun. This moment, Juli thought, was _their_ moment. Just them staring at the sun and the star gazing back at them. He turned to Doreen, "Thanks for remembering my birthday."

A gust of wind moved her hair forth, covering her eyes and forehead. She moved it back with her hand and smiled, "I'll always remember." She lowered her gaze.

Juli followed it and saw she offered him her hand. He intuitively took it. She held his hand tight.

Her eyes moved left and right on him, as if she were searching for something in his face. She let out a shy grin.

"What?" Juli looked at her quizzically .

Her eyes lingered on him, "Can you keep a secret?"

Even though he was puzzled, he nodded.

She started closing in, "It seems like we're going to fight these darkspawn soon." Her tone was gloomy, "and we don't know if we'll survive."

Juli could see the faintest shimmer of a tear on her eye. Almost unconsciously, he started closing in as well. He was so close that he could smell Doreen. For a moment, the wet smell of the river blended in with Doreen's body odor. He didn't know why, but just her smell, was _exhilarating_.

Before he knew it, his lips and Doreen's met. At first he was hesitant, not sure of what to do. But then, by instinct, his tongue started revolving around hers. She was soft and sweet. She placed her hand on his face and he did the same. The moment was thoughtless, nothing mattered except for him and her.

Their mouths withdrew, however, their hands didn't. They held each other as if they thought the laws of gravity would change and it would pull them apart.

"Happy birthday." She whispered.

"Doreen!" A loud and far voice called her.

Juli didn't want to let her go.

"Omar's calling me. We should go, he's probably going to start training us."


	31. Marcus

The scoring rings were placed on the open field between the camp and the river. There were five of them. They were not as robust and well-built as the ones at the previous camp, but these will have to do.

There was some part of Doreen that _yearned_ to shoot at those red targets once more. The fact that Juli wasn't shooting solaced her. _Juli._ I… _kissed_ him. Did he like it? I couldn't really tell…

"We're not going to get anywhere if you two keep staring at each other." Omar was obviously annoyed.

Doreen snapped and straightened herself. "No more staring." She said firmly.

Omar and Quinn stood in front of them with their hands behind their backs. Both mages held their staffs. Doreen hadn't realized it before; Omar's staff was a lot more rugged than Quinn's. The keeper's friend's staff was thin and simple, and all it supported was a tiny blue diamond. Unlike Omar's staff, which looked more like the thick branch of a oakwood tree and supported a big white ball that looked like a big snowball. If Doreen ever got a staff, she would prefer the one that is light and simple, like Quinn's.

"You've gotta be kidding me." A Templar flanked by Theodore complained.

"No my friend, I am serious indeed." Quinn said with a wry smile. "Our students here," he waved his arm towards Juli and Doreen, "need to learn how to fight demons so they don't posses them in their sleep."

"And you pretend to use me as a demon?" The Templar lifted a brow.

Quinn clasped his hands in front of him, "now you're getting it!"

Doreen and Juli glanced at each other saying; _is Quinn ok?_

Doreen was ok with Quinn bringing some glee to training. The Keeper was far too serious sometimes.

"What's your name demon?" Quinn's demeanor was more playful than anything else.

The Templar snorted, he glanced at the expectant students, "Marcus."

"Very good." Quinn's face suddenly turned into a serious one, "I'm sure you've done things you're not proud of in the past, Marcus?" He gravely asked.

Marcus seemed to have been mesmerized by what Quinn said, as his face seemed distant. After the memories lingered on his mind for a moment he nodded.

"I want you to think about those things, in detail."

At first Doreen thought Quinn was joking, however, the mage's rigid face gave no sign of it.

Marcus could also tell that Quinn was being earnest. The Templar winced as he followed Quinn's instructions. Doreen could tell that the man did not enjoy remembering those things, whatever they may be.

"You two will focus now. Concentrate in your mana. Just like Omar showed you, feel it flowing through your bodies."

What do they intend to do? She glanced at Omar, asking him with her eyes if this was ok to do. The keeper's eyes seemed to be in agreement with Quinn's instructions, thus, she did as she was told. The empowering source of magic coursed through her veins. Its exhilarating power overwhelmed her. It was as if her body was a shallow well and, at the very bottom, a very strong stagnant pool of water laid.

Now it was Omar's turn to speak, "The goal of this exercise is to teach you how to be in _control_ when a demon enters your mind. I want both of you to close your eyes. However, beware, when you close them your mana will infuse with all of the evil this Templars has done."

Doreen opened her mouth to speak, however, the Keeper cut her off.

"Don't worry you'll be fine. Just remember that this _isn't_ real. It will _feel_ like it's real, but it's not. Just know that these are _dreams._ So, " he shot a careful yet noticeable glance at Juli, "if you're constrained, or anything at all, remember this: it is _your_ dream. Not matter how much the evil presses in, you can fight back. These dreams are created by _you._ Meaning they can too, be _destroyed_ by you."

Both students nodded.

Doreen closed her eyes. She saw nothing but darkness. The faint sounds of hunters shooting arrows bounced in her head. They echoed in her brain until they completely disappeared.

 _A white flash_ replaced the darkness behind her eyelids.

An elven woman whimpering. Hands constrained her. Forcing her away from a child.

 _White flash._

A wide and long room. Tall statues were to the left and right of it. The backs of Templars were gathered in front of her. They all seemed to be paying attention to someone in front of them. Her hearing was weak, however, she caught snippets of the preaching:

"…You've been blessed by the Maker with this holy task." The voice was loud and confident.

"You shall not let magic corrupt you. You shall protect Thedas from the dangers of magic."

The group of Templars shouted in unison, all at once, "We shall!"

 _White flash._

Marcus stood straight, with both of his arms glued to his sides, "The woman nor the human know anything, sir." His voice was filled with compliance.

The leader, the one with the long black beard snorted, "Is that right?" The Templar walked up to the "elven woman." As he approached her, Doreen realized the "elven woman" was _Theresa._

"We don't want to fight." The woman stood between Patrick and the Templar.

The Templar looked at her contemptuously, "You don't tell me what to do."

The woman brandished her bow, and withdrew one arrow from her quiver, "We don't want any trouble." She said defiantly.

Doreen wanted to help Theresa, however, she couldn't _move._ There were no restraints on her, so why couldn't she move?

Before she knew it, the Templar's sword came down hard on Theresa. She fended off the attack with her bow. The wood was sliced through by the sharp saber. However, it didn't get her skin as she jumped back. The Templar took advantage of the momentum and thrusted his shield forth, hitting her face in point-blank. The hit was so hard that Theresa fell back— unconscious.

A hazy memory came to Doreen: "…These dreams are created by _you._ Meaning they can, too, be _destroyed_ by you."

Doreen tried gaining control. Her body was heavy, it was as if she was underwater and her body struggled to move. However, as she tried to move she felt something: _mana._ She wasn't sure whether this was real or not, yet, the magic was still there with her. She wanted to get these Templars away from Theresa. Before her magic manifested her request, everything froze. A yellow sphere engulfed them all. The Templars, Theresa, Patrick and even her were frozen in time. However, a blonde Templar was _not_ frozen and walked casually towards Theresa, and carried her away from the Templars. He turned Patrick's face away from the Templars. There was something about the Templar that felt familiar, however, she wasn't sure what. The young Templar walked back to his comrades and turned their faces away from Patrick.

The Templar snapped his fingers and time went back to its natural state.

 _White flash._

Green grass. She was sitting in a cross-legged position. Her eyes went upwards, Omar and Quinn were silhouetted statues that stood side by side.

"Very good Doreen." Quinn said.

She winced, "What?" She felt groggy.

"You managed to feel your mana while you dreamt. That's fabulous!" Quinn's face was all mirth.

For a split second Doreen's mind was misplaced. But then as she looked at the Templar, memories came back; taking the elven woman away from her child, and even mistreating Theresa. Were it not for that blonde Templar, they would have killed the kind woman who first fixed my wound when Juli found me. No, that was not a Templar. That was Quinn. How can these Templars think they can do whatever they want to whoever they want?

She got up, and trudged towards the Templar, "How could you do this?" Her voice was raspy from anger.

The Templar said nothing back. He lowered his head and stared at the ground. The guilt the knight felt was palpable.

She pressed in, "g _ood_ , I hope it hurts. Do you savages think is fair for a child to see his mother taken away by _Templars_ , right in front of him?"

Marcus stood still. Not saying anything. He knew what Doreen had seen. The things that Templars did; hunt mages and abuse of elves. He was a frozen pillar, with a heart so cold that not even fire could thaw it.

"I was following orders. I didn't have a choice." Marcus mumbled.

Doreen stewed, she didn't believe a word that the human said. She was so mad that she felt her body boil. Her insides felt like the inside of a pot filled with hot soup. A sudden and unexpected hand on her shoulder made her flinch. She turned back to find Omar's concerned expression.

His eyes went down on her. She followed his gaze to find that her clenched fists were ablaze. Blue flames viciously coated them. The keeper grabbed her wrists gently, "You need to calm down. You can hurt someone."

She glanced at the Templar. She noticed how Marcus looked at her in sheer awe. She quickly averted his eyes as she was now the one who was embarrassed. She tried to come to her senses. She walked back to sit down. Juli stared at the ground. He wasn't still dreaming because his eyes were open. Still, it was hard to tell if Juli had woken yet as the boy appeared to be mesmerized.

"Juli, are you with us?" Omar asked concerned.

He slowly lifted his head, his face was all forlorn. Juli slowly nodded.

What had he dreamt about? Did he see the nightmare of Catherine again? Or did he navigate through the memories of Marcus like I did? Whatever it was, Doreen could see in his face that it caused him a great deal of trouble. She didn't like seeing Juli so gloomy.

"It was the darkspawn." Juli snapped, "I tried moving but I couldn't."

Doreen thought Juli would weep, however, his face was rather rigid.

The boy looked at the two mages with fervor, "Teach me how to fight this demon. It was there again. Torturing Mother right in front of me." His voice was full of pain, however, his eyes sparkled with hatred.

"We will." Quinn said solemnly.


	32. Lila

Doreen and Juli trained the whole day. Doreen saw more memories of the Templar. In most instances, Templars would break into homes and take apostate mages by force to the Circle. Even though Marcus had all of these awful memories, he never did any of these things _willingly_. He was given tasks by his commander and it was his job to complete such tasks. Most of the tasks revolved around pursuing mages and bringing them to Circle of Magi. In most cases, the hounded mages will fight back. These fights will end up, most of the time, with the overwhelming number of Templars maiming the mage. One memory stood out; an elven woman being _sold_ to a rich man in Orlais. Doreen's heart started beating faster. I'm an elf, is that my fate? To be sold to some sick-minded noble from Orlais? What if I am of those mages Templars come after one day? What if the Keeper and the clan is not there to protect me or Juli? She decided that the only way to ensure her safety and Juli's was to become a very powerful mage so that she can handle Templars and any threat that may come about. As despicable as the acts were, she felt a little empathy for Marcus. In truth the guy had done nothing but to follow orders. His precious Chantry brainwashed him into thinking that magic was evil and that all mages were demonic.

She wondered what Juli had seen. Most of the time his face was unreadable. After waking up from his fray with the darkspawn, or his Father, or whatever the demon was, his eyes would avert hers. The kid just stared at the ground. He looked at the ground with the sane intensity as he looked at the fire now. The beautiful boy was sitting across from her. The red fire was the thing that separated them. She fixed her gaze on him. She couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him. Juli didn't say anything, but she knew he felt the same way. The whole clan was here, as always. Shannon sat next to her holding her baby. The woman was so strong, she was willing to do anything to protect her child. Doreen was amazed at how vigorously she'd fought the Templars the previous day. The five knights were still at the camp. Omar and Quinn promised everyone that they couldn't harm anyone because of the spell. However, that didn't mean that the scrutiny from people will quell. Every pair of eyes in the camp would scowl at the five knights who were where the glow of the fire met the darkness. The five of them were huddled in a circle. Doreen could could hear how they talked amongst themselves. Even though the blaze didn't fully get to them, she noticed that Marcus would glanced at her once in a while. The Templar had a different demeanor than his partners. While the others talked boisterously loud, Marcus was quite and just listened. Was he different than other Templars?

"They're probably wishing a dragon would show up and maim us all right now." Shannon's voice was full of contempt.

Doreen turned her attention to the ferocious hunter, "You think so?"

The hunter huffed, "Trust me, I know so." She glanced once more at them, "They haven't done anything yet because they _can't_ do anything. Quinn's spell is working well, it seems." She squinted at the knights and held her baby tight. The tiny elf was cradled in her arms as it slept.

"She's beautiful." Doreen gestured at the baby elf.

Her rigid face softened and turned her attention to the baby. She smiled at it. It was as if the toddler brought a great amount of joy by just existing. She caressed the baby's face, and finally nodded. "I know. She's my everything." It was as if the air of disdain towards the Templar was blown away by the child.

"What's her name?" Doreen asked.

"Lila. I named her after her grandmother." Shannon said, not removing her eyes from Lila.

The clatter of swords broke the moment. The cacophony came from where the Templars were. At first Doreen thought they were fighting amongst themselves. Then a bright light gave way to sight. At first, the glow from Omar's staff was blinding as if one would stare directly at the sun. The white ball supported by the Keeper's staff produced a white light. Not the white that came from the sun everyday, but that white of an eggshell. Doreen's eyes adjusted to the brightness and then she saw it: darkspawn surrounded them. They hissed at the Templars, threatening them with their talons and… _bows?_

"Everyone down!" Omar shouted.

Everyone was so consumed by dread that they just followed his order. Doreen was in shock. She couldn't move. Her eyes frantically searched for Juli. He was right behind Omar with bow at the ready. He hit two darkspawn with frozen arrows. The ice statues glistened in the bright light.

"You two get down!" Omar shouted one more time as his eyes flicked anxiously between Doreen and Juli.

"We can help you!" Doreen shouted back. It was hard to tell which was louder, the hisses of the wicked darkspawn or their yelling.

Omar scowled at them. Before he could scold them, the bashing sound of a skull startled them all. A flail gushing with black blood hung in the air.

"What took you so long." An enthusiastic voice regarded the wielder of the chained and spiked weapon.

"What matters is that we're here." A woman's voice full of authority answered Quinn's question. She held daggers, which were coated in black ichor. A darkspawn approached behind her. Quinn made a motion with his staff to warn the woman of the threat behind her. However, she held an open hand in front of her, telling him to not worry. Her confidence fighting darkspawn was obvious. The black haired, black-skinned woman didn't even flinch as the hisses of the darkspawn left turned to her party now. As if she'd waited for the creature to approach, she casually gripped her daggers and flipped them around so that the edge of the deadly blades was behind her. She thrusted them into the gut of the creature. Black blood poured down from the darkspawn's belly, if the ribcage-baring part of it can even be called that.

The wail of a baby made Doreen turned around. Her mind didn't want to believe what her eyes were looking at; a darkspawn leaned over Lila. The scene was unbearable. _No._ _You assholes won't take another life from this world._ Not like you took Nick's. She mustered up the courage to charge on the creature. Her anger was a ball of rage inside her stomach that she couldn't endure to swallow anymore. She ran towards the creature that sickly caressed the baby's face with its hideous long nail. Her fists were once again engulfed in that blue fire that had coated them earlier. With a great howl, she brought her fists forth and released her anger. The blue stream of energy sent the darkspawn flying, away from Lila. The poor baby cried and twisted as it laid helplessly on the ground. Doreen picked Lila up and held her tight to her chest. She noticed how the darkspawn struggled to put out the flames. It flailed its arms desperately as if the thrashing would extinguish the flames. Eventually the flapping stopped and so did the flames. The charred corpse fell limp to the ground. The body made a sizzling sound and smoke billowed from it. She looked at Lila one more time; she stopped crying. Doreen glanced around her and noticed that all the darkspawn that had attacked had been defeated. Her eyes also caught someone she hadn't seen before; an old man, so old that there were wrinkles on his face. The old man held a staff. _Another mage?_ She noticed how he stood in the middle of the two unknown warriors; the woman with the daggers and the man with the flail. All three of them were breathing heavily. She noticed how most of the darkspawn that laid on the ground circled them. These three strangers had stepped into the camp and saved them. Why? Before she could utter her question, she noticed Shannon writhed in pain as she laid on the ground. The woman's white tunic was splatted with black dots. The woman had fought bravely for the life of the child that Doreen now held. Out of nowhere, Juli knelt beside the pained woman. His beautiful face was covered in that black soot as well. He too had fought bravely against the wicked creatures.

"We need help." He said to Doreen whom was just staring at him.

She felt silly, however, she snapped. "Theodore!" She called out louder than she intended.

The boy, despite his power, hid in a tent. I guess he's not a fighter like us. She caught a glance of him as his head peered out form the slit of his tent. A woman's head peered out behind his, Theodore's mother. Another head peered out of Theodore's tent. A woman with blonde curls and less wrinkles, her head hovered above Theodore's Mother. His aunt, maybe? The timid boy glanced at the wrinkled pale-skinned woman. Her eyes darted all around. Then she nodded to Theodore.

"Come, she needs help!" Doreen's shout sounded like an order.

Her voice startled two other kids that peered out from the tent as well. A blue-eyed girl and a green-eyed boy, their young faces flinched as their ears caught Doreen's demanding tone.

The timid boy snapped and rushed towards them. Shannon's groans grew louder as her hands hung in the air trying to reach for the wound on her belly. The wound was narrow but deep. An arrow shot by the intelligent darkspawn, maybe? Blood pooled around it, making her tunic red and wet. Theodore fixed his big spectacles and got to work. That powerful red aura coated his hands and the wound started closing in, flesh glueing itself back together. Even though at this point Doreen was used to seeing the boy work out these miracles, she still marveled at the magic. It was as if she almost _felt_ the great deal of power the boy carried with him. Shannon stared in awe at the boy as if she didn't believe that she'd been healed.

Still staring at her healed wound, she got up. She almost snatched the baby out of Doreen's hands as she quickly reached for it. She spoke softly at her baby as she ran a gentle hand down the baby's soft back. The woman reached out for Doreen and hugged her with one hand, "Thank you." Her voice was a soft whisper.

"Is everyone ok?" The keeper asked.

Everyone glanced around them. Hoping that not more wicked creatures came form the dark. Even though the glow from Omar's staff was almost blinding, it could only go so far. The white light was consumed by the dark just a couple of inches after the outskirts of the camp.

Several heads nodded. Theresa, Tobias and Patrick stood side by side across from Doreen, they breathed heavily as the battle got the most out of them. Everyone's panting was obvious… except for the three unknown warriors. While they were utterly covered with soot and had fought plenty of the darkspawn, they didn't appear to be tired at all. They had the same level of weariness as of a child that had played the whole day, they were tired but could have fought for longer if needed to.

The woman warrior bowed in the same manner Quinn had done before; one arm out and the other placed flat on the belly. "Our apologies. We did not mean to bring the darkspawn with us, they followed us here."

"What are you doing here?" The leader of the Templars barked. He took a step forward, however, he was stopped as Quinn stood in front of him. "The order has been expelled out of Thedas! You must be brought to court!"

Quinn glared at him, "I don't think you're in a position to make demands." The mage said in a even voice, trying to contain his anger at the Templar.

The long bearded knight looked around him. His eyes went back to Quinn. He made a motion as if he were to say something, but turned brusquely around to face the other Templars. All of the Templars gave their backs to "the order," whatever that means. All of them… except Marcus. The strange Templar's face was openmouthed as he looked in sheer amazement at the trio. His face was that of a child contemplating something he didn't quite understand but was curious to.

Quinn faced the order, "Everyone," his voice loud enough so that everyone could hear it, including the Templars in the dark, "meet the Grey Wardens."


	33. The Order

Juli had heard stories of the order; it was said that those that belonged to the order were fierce enough to lurk the murky Deep Roads to keep darkspawn from coming to the surface _._ Whatever the darkspawn planned, it was dire enough for the legendary Grey Wardens to be after them. Bu what did Mother have to do with their plans? According to his nightmares the darkspawn, demon, Father, or whoever the madman was, said that if he wanted to see Mother again he wanted Juli there by himself. Juli wanted to go alone and free Mother. Nevertheless, Omar had a point; that'll be suicide. If the witch had the leverage of sending so many darkspawn after them, then her actual reserve must be big. Juli fought the urges to flee and decided to train more with Quinn and Omar until him and Doreen were "ready." How long until that can be accomplished? A day? A week? A year? Will me and Doreen train with the Grey Wardens? There was a mage amongst them, is he here to train us? A tingle of excitement trickled down his spine. As ruthless as the warriors were, to train with the Grey Wardens was something that few people on Thedas got to do.

Juli had slept without trouble, except for the casual snoring of Quinn. When he woke up, dried soot covered his face and clothes. He wondered how the stench of rotten flesh didn't wake him up in the sleep. The foul smell permeated the camp. He'd decided to go to the lake to get rid of the gunk. When he got to the river Doreen had just finished washing herself. Juli tried to ignore her as he didn't want her to smell the stench he carried with him. Juli felt silly thinking that as he knew that everyone in the camp had the same smell, however for some reason, he would have felt embarrassed if Doreen noticed the smell on him. She kissed me. What does that mean? Why now when I see her my heart starts pounding hard? Every time I see her my heartbeats are so fast, that I think my heart will jump out of my chest. Why do I feel this way? The smell rid of his thoughts, and decided to end the stench once and for all. He stepped into the transparent lake. Juli was sure that everyone from the camp had to come to the lake to remove soot from skin, yet, the water appeared as if not soot had blackened it. It was as clean and fresh as the first day he saw the lake with Patrick.

Humans, darkspawn,Templars and Grey Wardens. How did we get here? Will more Templars come to rescue the ones on the camp? Why are we keeping Templars here? Juli's head spun. So many questions and answers to none of them. He decided to bury his head into the cool water. The water, as always, removed that heaviness he always felt in the mornings.

 _—_

After lots of scrubbing, the soot was long gone from his skin. He decided to head to Omar and Quinn to train. Because, what else was there to do? When he got there he was dumbstruck by what his eyes saw; Doreen was holding daggers. She cheerfully waved the deadly instruments around in the air.

"Look Juli." She said with a face full of mirth. She threw them in the air and the blades floated in the air. They spun around and Doreen finally gripped them. "Tailor taught me."

Juli winced, "Who's Tailor?"

"That will be me young man. I've heard a lot of fascinating things about you. Aren't you the one they call Juli?" The mage who was part of the Grey Warden trio. Last night Juli was so focused fighting for his own life that he couldn't tell how old the mage really was. His face had many wrinkles and his eyes were the smallest Juli had ever seen. His beard was short and white. The top part of his head worked as a mirror for the sun as he had no hair there. However, there were bits of white hair on the sides of his head. His staff was just like Omar's, except it supported a transparent diamond. Rainbow colors were inside as it polarized sunlight.

Juli noticed the man squinted at him, waiting for an answer. "Yes…" Uncertainty filled his voice as Juli didn't know how to act in front of a Grey Warden.

"You crazy old man! Who said you could use my daggers!" The thin and tall woman trudged furiously towards him. The lithe and pale body left a trail of long hair behind her.

As a child in trouble, Tailor hid behind Doreen. The angered woman patiently extended out a hand. Doreen, scared of the looming woman, handed the daggers rather rapidly. She calmly sheathed her weapons behind her back. The daggers made the form of an x on the woman's back.

"Could you move to the side sweetheart? So that coward can face me." Her voice was unbelievably soft.

Doreen did so.

That rigidness came back to her face.

Tailor lifted his staff helplessly above him, protecting himself from his vexed comrade. Are they comrades if they have quarrels as this one? That is a weird relationship, Juli thought.

"Tailor, Eva. Stop fooling around you two, and come eat." The third Grey Warden said, clearly annoyed by the immaturity of his partners.

Tailor and Eva looked perplexed at whatever his name was. Eva in particular, made the face of a scolded child, "But Gyles, He took my daggers." Now her whining made her sound like a petulant kid.

Gyles sighed heavily. Even though the blonde man appeared to be the youngest amongst the group, he sure seemed to be the most matured. These are the famous and brave Grey Wardens? Juli had to admit; he'd expected more from such notorious army.

He glanced at Doreen, the girl that kissed him shrugged.

For a moment, Eva and Tailor stared at one another, not knowing what to do. Then Eva took a deep breath and stormed off towards Gyles. Juli noticed that most people from the camp gathered around Gyles, as the warden stood near a cauldron, steam billowed from the black pot— Gyles was cooking for the whole camp. Juli hadn't realized it, but he was starving. After the fight last night, he didn't have any supper. His exhaustion was too great and he went too sleep. That seemed to have happened to everyone as Quinn, Omar and even the _Templars_ waited anxiously for the meal. Are they our friends now? They fought the darkspawn bravely last night. Why are they helping us? He and Doreen walked towards Gyles.

"What's your agenda?" Juli heard Omar said as he sat next to him.

Gyles served the keeper some kind of soup, "I'm starving keeper. Can't we do the questioning later?"

Omar nodded reluctantly and took the bowl.

Everyone's eyes fixated on Gyles when he started offering the Templars bowls of soup as well. "They fought too." The warden said, regarding all of the judging eyes that looked at him.

All heads went down. He was right; Templars fought bravely alongside us. They could've used the darkspawn against us and they didn't. Does that mean they are on our side?

Juli's pondering was interrupted by the offering of a bowl. Doreen passed him the wooden basin that had that steamy yellow broth. He brought a spoon to his mouth. As soon as the liquid touched his lips, he recoiled as the soup was steaming hot. He heard Doreen let out a chuckle.

"Be careful, it's hot." She teased him.

He tried to ignore her. He brought the spoon again and blew at the steam. He sipped at it; the broth was surprisingly tasty. Gyles was an amazing cook, it seemed. The meaty smell of the broth overwhelmed the camp. As Juli peered around the camp all heads were buried deep on brown bowls, except for two— Marcus the Templar and Gyles talked. Both of them seemed to be so engaged in the conversation the they weren't sipping at their soup anymore. Juli couldn't hear anything they said as they were on the other side of the black kettle. However he did notice at one point how Marcus, for a long moment, stared at his shiny sword and shield. His eyes were those of someone struggling to say goodbye. Whatever Gyles spoke of with Marcus, it was obvious that Marcus' partners disliked it as their glares showed nothing but disdain towards Gyles. Their expressions were full of disapproval as Marcus looked back at them.

"Isn't that Templar a little peculiar?" Doreen said as she too gazed curiously at Marcus.

"Yeah."

"Enough of this." He hard Omar said as the keeper stood and started for Gyles. His gait was brusque. Quinn went after him. Black robe after white. When the Keeper got to Gyles, Juli noticed that Omar was not trying to hide his impatience. He could see the Keeper's exasperation as he made a bunch of stark gestures. Gyles grinned apologetically at Marcus. When the Grey Warden stood Omar gestured to follow him. Quinn, Omar and Gyles headed towards… _us._

"Come you two." Omar said in a very serious voice.


	34. A New Warden

Juli and Doreen stood up and followed. As they followed the two mages and the warden, Juli noticed that Lou and Patrick were already crafting weapons on their wooden table. Patrick stared at a wooden arrow, studying every detail of it. Lou did the same with a bow. How much more weapons will we need? Quinn suggested Juli to get ready. He stopped by his tent and got his bow. The quiver was filled with those deadly black "onyx" arrows. They walked until they reached the clearing. It had now more scoring rings than before. Despite that they just had breakfast, most of the camp was training already. Juli was grateful that he had people around him who wanted to help him. Most of them didn't mention Mother, but Juli knew that was why they trained. The blue-eyed girl and the green-eyed boy looked at Juli and Doreen with nothing but sheer amazement. The boy was a couple of inches taller than the girl, however, still shorter than Theodore. Juli and Doreen smiled at them. Poor kids, Juli thought, so defenseless in the midst of all this chaos. But aren't me and Doreen kids also? Well I mean teenagers, technically speaking.

Kid or teenager, it didn't matter. They were getting ready to rescue Mother and Tobias. If they're still alive that is, as Omar says they are. Erick and Theresa were already training; neither hunter missed a shot. Theresa in particular bared a face of determination that could be only be matched by the one of an animal going after its prey. Theodore appeared to be in some kind of deep meditation as he sat crosslegged on the ground. Is he really younger than me? Physically, the boy appeared to be an eight year old. However, the things he did with magic showed that he was as experienced as the Keeper was.

"Let's see what you've got." Tailor startled them from behind. Eva was on his heels.

Were they following us? If they were, Juli didn't notice them behind.

"We don't have all day Quinn." The female Warden said impatiently.

Juli winced, "What's going on?"

He could see that Doreen was going through the same deal of confusion he was.

"You want your mother back, yes?" Quinn asked solemnly.

The question annoyed Juli, _of course I want Mother back._ He nodded.

"Then you better listen to everything they say." He cocked his head, gesturing to the two wardens that stood behind them. "You too Doreen, both of you can learn a great deal from them."

"That's wonderful, but what are you _really_ doing here?" Omar chimed in.

Eva responded rather quickly, "Killing darkspawn. What else will we be doing here?"

Omar looked dubious. He squinted his eyes at them.

Quinn placed a hand on the Keeper's shoulder, "Trust me. That's all they're doing. I called them here so that they could help us rescue your people." Quinn's voice was almost as low as a whisper. It was as if he'd ignored everyone present and wanted to talk only to Omar. The trust between those two, Juli thought, was the fruit of a very long relationship.

Even though that trust was there, Omar seemed to have considered this for a second. "Very well then." He finally gave in.

"Oh right kid," The weary old warden regarded Juli, "Let's see what you're made of." Purple lightning danced inside the diamond of his staff. The mage tilted the wooden staff forth and a lightning strike went after Juli. Out of instinct, he jumped to the side. The electrical current blackened the grass where Juli stood. He looked to Omar and Quinn for help, but neither of them even moved a muscle. Doreen tried to cast a spell, however, Quinn gestured her to stop. _I guess I'm on my own on this one._

The next lightning bolt was even faster and louder. The thunderous streak almost caught Juli. He felt the air that was knocked out by the sheer force the bolt carried. This time the lightning ignited a small fire that viciously burned grass. Juli managed to dodge the next two attacks, each increased in speed and force as they came.

"You can't run away forever." The old man said almost cheerfully.

He's right. Juli's chest heaved from the running and evading he had done. "Fine, you asked for it." Juli took a deep breath, trying to get his bearings. He drew an arrow from his quiver. It was made of that onyx material Omar spoke of. He readied his red bow.

The old man's diamond had so much lightning, that now the purple streaks jumped back and forth between staff and diamond. Purple snakes slithered along the oakwood branch. The wrinkled mage prepared to attack.

 _This is for Mother._

Juli didn't know how, but he _felt_ the overwhelming power of the lightning spell Tailor was about to cast. Could he feel other mages' mana levels? If he could, he didn't care to know. The only thing he cared about was proving his power to the Grey Wardens so they can help him get Mother and Tobias back to the camp. He pointed his bow at the mage.

 _Give me something more powerful than the lightning, please._

Based on his request, he'd expected the bow to be coated in lightning and feel electricity surge inside of him. Instead, he felt a smooth substance itch his nose. The substance was almost _intoxicating._ A thick green fog twisted itself around the shaft of the black arrow. For the love of Andraste he couldn't recognize the substance. Nevertheless, somehow he knew this was more powerful than the lightning. At least it _felt_ more powerful than the counter attack. He released. When the nock left the string, Juli couldn't make the arrow in the air as the projectile was unbelievably fast.

Tailor was almost hit by the arrow at point-blank, however, the mage reacted quickly and released his lightning strike. The bolt was so purple that it looked eggplant. Two rays of energy, one green one purple, clashed against one another. The arrow was at arm's length from Tailor. The mage struggled to hold off the thin piercing green trail of smoke. His lightning, ten times thicker than the green arrow, creaked as it was now weakened by the stark force of Juli's attack. Despite his struggle, Juli noticed how the old man sneered as he warded off the attack. Is he enjoying this? His whole body trembled from the effort he was putting into fending off the green fog.

The Grey Warden snapped the fingers on his free hand, and his purple lightning swallowed Juli's arrow. Juli was dumbstruck by this. The powerful arrow blended into the engulfing purple lightning. The booming bolt returned to follow its original target— Juli. It came at a great speed. Juli tried to swiftly get an arrow to defend himself, however it was too late. His vision was filled with purple. Like a meteor about to impact ground, the streak crashed into his face. He closed his eyes, bracing for the spell to knock wind from his face. However, he still stood. The spell did _nothing_ to him.

He heard clapping, "Very well young man." The weathered voice of the old Warden was like no other.

Juli opened his eyes."The lightning…"

"You think I was going to hurt you, kid?" Tailor said defensively.

"It was so real." Juli's head was in a daze.

Juli noticed that Doreen was agape— she was just as confused as he was. Juli peered around him. All eyes stared at him— they witnessed the battle between him and the powerful Warden. Even Theodore eyes opened to witness it. He was agape as well. A hand on Juli's shoulder.

"They just wanted to test the levels of your magic." Omar said solemnly from behind. "They needed to know for sure whether you were ready or not. And it seems that you're more than ready." The keeper sounded pleased.

Juli felt his bow; _yes they're telling you the truth_. With Mother and Father gone, this bow and Doreen are the only ones I trust in this world.

"You think he's powerful?" Quinn regarded the Grey Wardens, "Wait until you wait what she can do." He pointed a limber finger at Doreen.

Those big green eyes stared back at him in sheer bewilderment. She couldn't believe that she could had been more powerful than Juli. "Is he going to attack me with lightning too?" She nervously asked Quinn.

"I don't have to do that." The old man chimed in.

Doreen's face twisted into a grimace.

"I was able to feel your power before I even came close to this camp." Tailor almost sounded content.

Eva trudged forth. "We don't have time for this, Tailor."

Juli expected the two Wardens to argue again, however, their demeanor this time was rather calm and mature. The mage nodded readily. He squinted his eyes at Doreen and Juli. For a moment, he studied them carefully.

"We shall leave tomorrow. And Keeper, " Tailor jutted his chin, "bring your healer too."

Theodore's eyes widened. As powerful as the little mage was, he was still afraid. His two younger friends, even if they were at a distance, saw the fear in the young and powerful mage's eyes. They too looked spooked by what Tailor had said.

Omar walked up to the timid boy. He knelt and started talking softly to him. Juli couldn't hear what the keeper said to him as he almost whispered to the healer.

"May I come as well?" A rigid voice made them all jump. The Templar stood tall, its armored figure silhouetted by the bright sun as the shiny star was at its highest peak.

Eva couldn't hold her laughter, "That's a good one." She said wagging a finger at the Templar.

The Templar's lips were a serious line, giving not sign of him joking.

The female Warden's elated face slumped as realization hit home— Marcus was being serious. "You're serious."

"He is indeed, Eva." Gyles interjected. The flail wielder stepped forth next to the Templar.

"Do you have any clue of what being a Grey Warden entails?" She arched in a eyebrow.

"I explained it to him." Gyles answered.

The Templar stared at the ground. It was as if the grass was a vast ocean and its depth mesmerized him. "I've done a lot of awful things." His voice was just as silent and sincere as the wind. His lowered eyes glanced at Doreen, "As a Templar one doesn't have a choice. However, I now choose to redeem myself by servicing the order of the Grey Wardens." He unsheathed his sword. Juli reached into his quiver.

Gyles help up a hand, letting Juli know that he meant no harm. And he was right; his bow didn't warn him at all that Marcus was a menace.

Marcus knelt and held his sword across his opened palms. He made a lifting motion with the sword, "Take this weapon as a pledge of my allegiance to you."

Eva and Tailor walked forward. There was something ritualistic about their gait. Every step Tailor took, he had to put his staff in front of him to lift himself for the next one. Anyone that had not witnessed his power, would have considered him a worn old man. On the other hand, Eva's pace was much more effortless as the woman was significantly younger than Tailor. As young as she was, she was older than Gyles. As grown as the blonde Warden seemed to be, his face showed that of one without experience. His skin was smooth and full of life. In the case of Eva, her face didn't have wrinkles in it, however, Juli could see that her attitude was that of someone who had experienced hardship in life. Her skin might had not been as worn out as Tailor's, but it certainly wasn't as vigorous as Gyles'.

"Are you sure you want to become a Grey Warden?" Eva's voice was earnest.

Marcus nodded readily.

"Killing darkspawn will be your duty."

He nodded.

"Preventing the Blight will be your obligation." Tailor stated.

Marcus seemed to have considered this, for jut a brief moment. Then he once again nodded.

"You'll be in thrall of the taint. It'll decide the time of your Calling.'' Gyles's tone was a warning one, as if Marcus already knew this and Gyles was just trying to remind him of it.

He lifted his head to look at the three Wardens that stood before him, his eyes blazed with determination,"I shall be in the thrall of the taint. It'll decide the time of my Calling."


	35. Tainted

The other Templars fled. Only one stayed behind— the one that became a Grey Warden. Does that mean he'll be a good man now?

A small part of Doreen wanted to believe that the Templar would redeem himself, but the things she saw made her think otherwise. Can someone that has murdered be good? If the Grey Wardens knew things the Templar had done, they didn't show it as they were rather satisfied with their new recruit.

The old Wardens and the new one sat not too far from Doreen as she could hear their banter.

"…We're only a small platoon." Eva said as she drank from a chalice. "The Grey Wardens is an army so big that we're spread across Thedas." She said almost boastfully.

"They seem happy." A muffled voice startled Doreen.

She turned to see that Shannon sat next to her. The woman looked pale, a skeleton staring at the fire. She didn't carry Lila.

"Where's Lila?" The question escaped Doreen's lips as she didn't intend to pry into Shannon's private life.

The woman seemed to have ignored the question as her eyes were fixed on the fire.

"Sorry. I don't mean to—"

The dagger and bow wilder snapped, "Oh no that's ok." She tried to smile, however, it was as if something hindered her from doing so. Her trying-to-smile lips turned her face into that of an ice statue being melted by the fire, "Lila is with Father."

Doreen noticed that, on the other side of the bonfire, the old man that yelled at Omar for allowing Patrick into the camp carried the toddler in his arms. So that's Shannon's Father. Doreen turned back to look at the gloomy woman. She wanted to ask her why she wasn't with her daughter. She wanted to know why Shannon looked so depressed.

"Doreen," the woman called out as she didn't move her eyes from the flames, "take care of Lila for me." She slowly lifted her eyes form the fire, boring them into Lila, whom giggled from the old man's coos. "Father would give his life for his granddaughter, but he can't. He's not as strong as you are." Her pleading eyes turned to Doreen. She didn't speak, however, her eyes said everything that needed to be said; I won't be alive much longer.

"What are you saying?" Doreen could see the dire predicament in the woman's wet eyes, however, she didn't want to believe that she would see another kind person leave this world.

The woman said nothing. Her gaze fixed low on the fire. Doreen followed her eyes and then she saw what Shannon was really looking at. She wasn't looking at the fire, she was looking at her hands; there her pale skin had black thick veins. They weren't natural blood vessels as they were so thick that they appeared to almost coming out of her skin. They went from her knuckles to her wrist.

The woman's eyes were a bright transparent pool, "I don't have much time Doreen." She couldn't hold the reservoir anymore and the stream ran down her pale cheeks, "Please, promise me you'll protect her. Please." She wailed.

The tall and thin woman fell into Doreen's arms. Not knowing what to do, she held the woman tight to her chest. "I promise."

"What's wrong?" Gyles asked anxiously.

Shannon pulled away from Doreen. She wiped snot away with the long sleeve of her tunic.

"When did it happen?" The Grey Warden asked gravely as if he knew what the unnatural veins meant.

"Last night, I believe."

"What's wrong with her?" Doreen asked the blonde Warden as she was perplexed by all of this.

For a second he hesitated to speak, as if he knew that this wouldn't be easy for Doreen to hear. Gyles cleared his throat, "She's been soiled by the taint."

"What does that mean?" Doreen screamed in fear of what the answer was.

Her loud voice got the attention of everyone. Omar and Quinn rushed towards them.

"She'll be a darkspawn in a few hours." Eva said as she was behind Gyles.

 _—_

Everyone had gone to sleep except for Juli and Doreen, whom were just outside Juli's tent. Quinn said he'd like to be alone with Omar on his tent to "discuss strategy." Doreen didn't believe him, but she had to admit it; if this was her last night, she would like to spend it with the boy she loved. So Quinn and Omar could not have picked a better night to "discuss strategy."

Juli's pale face was cast by the silver light of the full moon. He stared at the two Wardens that were on watch— Gyles and Marcus sat across one another, their silhouettes peering out into the dark. "Do you think Shannon is really going to die?" The boy asked somberly. The pain in his voice was that of a calf in pain.

Those small eyes stared hopeful at her. Doreen jutted her head, pointing to the Wardens on watch, "That's what they said." She wished she hadn't been so blunt. She wanted to say something more comforting. She wanted to say something that will quell the pain that she and Juli felt. Nevertheless, reality is what it is. She offered her hand to him. Juli took it. Their fingers interlocked as yarn knitting itself together. "As long as we're together, we'll be ok." That's the only thing, she thought, that might give them both some solace.


	36. A Darkspawn Mother

"I love you, Lila. I love you so much." It's not fair, Shannon thought, for a child to lose both of her parents so early in life that she won't even have a memory of them. She's only _ten_ months old.

Shannon held Lila with those blackened hands she'd come to hate so much. Every minute that passed, the veins will cover more parts of her body; first it was from her knuckles to her wrist, then the corrupted blood vessels extended throughout her entire arms. Even clumps of hair had fallen off her scalp. Every time she felt corruption grow inside of her, she heard a faint voice. The Wardens referred to this as the "calling." They said that within a day or two, she would be a darkspawn. A part of Shannon was grateful for that— it'll give her a chance to die fighting for her people. A chance to die fighting for Lila.

"How do you feel?" Father's hand was on her shoulder.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Shannon didn't want to talk about she becoming a darkspawn with her father.

"Yes, she has your eyes. Beautiful indeed." Father leaned over her shoulder, gazing at his lovely grandchild.

This might be the last time she'd hear the raspy voice of Father. As old and spent as he was, he did everything within his limits to protect his granddaughter.

She turned around to face the man who's been there for her for as long as she can remember. His eyes were dried, however, his gaze was low and stagnant, like a lifeless and empty blue pond. To know that a loved one will leave you forever the next day must be the greatest pain of all.

She handed over Lila to him as she didn't want to corrupt her child as well. "I'm sorry Father." Her voice was muffled.

The short man stared up at her. Those solemn eyes bore into her, "You have nothing to be sorry about." The empty pool at his eyes filled.

"Doreen." Shannon snapped, "She'll protect you. She's strong. She can protect both of you."

Tears ran down his cheeks as he knew this was goodbye. He fell into her belly, "There must be another way Shannon."

She wanted there to be a magical potion that solved everything. However, she could feel the corruption taking over her. It was getting stronger by the minute.

 _Shannon…_

That forsaken male voice beckoned her again. She pulled away from Father and rubbed at her temples, the humming and the voices were giving her a headache.

"You ok?" The question sounded silly, however, Father was willing to be there even in the most dire of moments.

 _You know you want to…_

Shannon's head spun and fell to the ground. "SHUT UP!" The voices wouldn't leave her alone.

Father was startled and Lila started crying.

"What's wrong?" The Keeper was all concern at the entrances of their tent.

"The voices…" Shannon glanced at him. He didn't want to meet anyone's gaze as she was ashamed by she'd done.

Omar nodded solemnly.

"They don't shut up." Shannon tried to lower her voice as best she could.

Omar walked up to her. The looming mage's face was a sorrowful one. He knelt next to her. Omar offered his hands.

Does he want to see my disgusting hands?

His earnest gaze told her yes. For a moment she hesitated, afraid that Omar would be mortified by the way her hands looked. A muddy color coated them and blisters grew. Her nails… at this point, her nails looked more like claws. She didn't want to show her hands, however, the keeper seemed very persistent with that piercing gaze. She, lamely, gave him her hands.

Without hesitation the keeper held the wicked hands tight. If he was disgusted by them, he didn't show. "You're the strongest person I know, Shannon." He got a good look at her hands, "This," he lifted them, "is not you. The real you," his lithe finger tapped her chest, "is in here."

For a moment they held a mutual and honest gaze. A look that was that of a bird letting its offspring fly off its nest. Only this time the child would die on its flight.

"I want to help you fight them." Shannon's voice was sharp as she tried to push away the voices. "I need to go knowing that I died fighting for them." Her eyes went past Omar and peered into the crying Lila and her white-bearded Father.

"Of course." The keeper said without arguing. He could've argued the danger she presented for them, as she could turn into a darkspawn and attack them. However, the mage knew that this woman, more than anyone, deserved a chance at dying with dignity.


	37. Saying Goodbye

Doreen slept. Those big green eyes didn't look at him as Juli still lay on his cot. She looked so peaceful sleeping, like a squirrel hibernating. This girl…I'd give anything to keep her safe. A trickle of dread ran down his spine—what if I lose her today?

It was the day, according to the Grey Wardens, that they would face the darkspawn. The day that he would face his nightmares— the witch and his demonized Father. Would the darkspawn look exactly as the nightmares he'd had? The wicked creature looked exactly like Father. However, he knew this wasn't Father. His father would never hurt Mother. Let alone kidnap her.

"Hey." Doreen's voice was as heavy as stone .

"Hey." Juli said. Those big green eyes bore into his.

"I don't want to get up." Doreen pleaded. "It's scary out there."

Templars attacked them. Uncle had died. Shannon was about to die. Mother and Tobias were being tortured somewhere. Father had turned into a darkspawn and was making their lives miserable. Darkspawn, apparently, were after them as the creatures had attacked them a few times at this point. Their situation was so dire, that the legendary Grey Wardens were brought in by Quinn. Doreen had the right to be scared. If she's scared, I'm terrified.

"Me too."

Her eyes still on him, went left and right. "We have each other. That's something, right?" She gave him a shy grin.

She almost abruptly got up.

He still lay on his bed. A thin orange line went down the midsection of her body— from neck to waist. In the mildly lit tent, the white robe made the girl with the big green eyes looked as regal as ever. She slightly extended her right hand to the her side— offering it to Juli. For a brief moment he hesitated, as if her hand was a hanging hook. He gripped it tight, and she helped him get up.

Now they both stood side by side, fingers interlocked, the thin line of light that peered through the slit ran down the middle of the joined hands.

The looming brown-haired mage turned to him, "Together."

He nodded.

They stepped outside of the tent, into the scary reality that awaited them.

Everyone bustled loudly about the camp. Despite the sun being young, everyone was getting ready. The Wardens were huddled in a circle, whispering amongst themselves. Juli assumed that was some type of before-battle ritual, maybe? Patrick and Lou were arguing intensely. Their bickering suddenly stopped when Quinn and Omar walked towards them.

Theodore hugged his mother tight. Is it fair for him to come with us? He is so young, and we're dragging him to accompany us into this ordeal that we don't know if we would ever come back from. Juli felt an urge to speak up, however, it dwindled as he saw the young powerful healer rush enthusiastically towards Omar and Quinn. Does he have any idea of how dangerous and deadly darkspawn can be? Or is he straight up nuts? Or, Juli reconsidered, the boy is brave enough to want to help us. After all, they could really use a healer as they don't know what types of dangers await them.

Theodore was on their heels. The timid healer had a new staff. The stick was as short as he was. It supported nothing at the top, its peak was a solid surface. Juli couldn't tell if it was made of wood or not as it was as white as an eggshell.

Erick and Theresa wore heavy armor, it was at least the heaviest Juli had seen any hunter wear anyway. Their armor went from sternum to waist. Their limber arms were covered in silver shiny new armor. Even though the armor was akin to that of the Templars, this one appeared to be more…flexible than that of a Templar. Their pauldrons looked like thin leafs above their padded shoulders. The breastplates were a dark silver.

Doreen's hand escaped his, "Look." She said pointing a finger across the camp.

A person Juli couldn't quite recognize. He or she wasn't quite walking as the person limped about. As he squinted his eyes, he was able to tell it was a woman. Her hair looked strange as it was in _clumps._ In some spots on her scalp, there was none. And her skin was the color of an old parchment. Juli's eyes trembled with fear as he noticed her hands; they were _claws._ Like the talons of a darkspawn. He reached for his bow.

Doreen put a solid hand on his shoulder, "That's not a darkspawn. That's Shannon."

He looked at Doreen in disbelief. Then his dreading eyes turned back to see the woman, and he realized that this was indeed Shannon. He hadn't noticed her black black bow and quiver until now. Her hands looked bumpy and _blackened._ Was the Shannon he knew still there?

Doreen walked up to her. For a moment July hesitated, however, Doreen made a sharp gesture to follow her. He followed, his pace a clumsy one, as he didn't know what to expect from the woman tainted with darkspawn blood.

"How are you Shannon?" Doreen asked.

The woman had her backs to them as she tried to put on a boot. Shannon too had that sleek shiny armor that Theresa and Erick had. She seemed to have ignored Doreen as she went on to put on a black gauntlet. She turned.

They both jumped at the sight of her. Her face was blotted with black marks. Her lips were curled inward, baring yellowed teeth at all times.

She abruptly turned her face away, apparently shamed by her looks.

For a brief moment they both looked at each other. Juli gave her an uncertain shrug. Doreen reached out to Shannon and placed a hand on the embarrassed hunter, "We didn't mean to…"

"It's not you." She cut off Doreen.

Those big green eyes flicked towards Juli, bewildered byShannon's words.

A feeling that he had come to hate rose inside Juli; _helplessness._ Juli could see the same desperation on Doreen's eyes. He wanted to do something to fix all of this. He wanted something that would bring Mother, Tobias and Uncle back. Something that would keep the darkspawn away from them. Right now, those things were far beyond his reach for him to fix. However, there was something that he could do right now in this instant, and that was to help Shannon.

He put his judgement aside and stepped forward. He was at arm's length form Shannon. His eyes glanced at Doreen. He noticed that her mouth moved to say something, but not words were uttered. He gently grabbed Shannon's arms , "Then tell us, what is it?"

Her head half-turned to look at them. For a brief moment she hesitated, but then wheeled completely to face them. Weak black tendrils of hair fell to the ground, like lazy blackened snow flakes as she turned around. She didn't exactly have a mouth so her expression was unreadable, however, her eyes were forlorn. Her gaze was low and unaware. "There are voices in my head." Her voice sounded different. It was muffled and crushed. Like the groan of an animal in pain.

Juli tried his best to keep his composure and not seemed startled by the deafening voice, as he didn't want her to feel ashamed again. "Anything you need we're here."

Now she was the one that was startled. She had the same look of a teacher surprised by her students.

"Shan," her Father called from behind. He held her baby on his wrinkled and saggy arm. The man, Juli noticed, was too old to protect a toddler.

She turned and looked at her baby. Her talons yearned for her child. If Juli hadn't known this was Shannon, from behind he would have thought of her as a darkspawn. Her talons hovered anxiously above her baby. She took Lila in her unnatural hands. Her eyes hadn't been corrupted yet and she gazed at Doreen while she held her baby gingerly, trying her best so that those talons didn't hurt her beloved Lila. Both of them seemed to be speaking with just their eyes. Without the need for Shannon to say anything, Doreen nodded. Her eyes flicked to Juli, and while her lipless mouth didn't allow a smile, his bow told him that she was saying goodbye.

For a moment Juli stared at her. For the slightest portion of a second, he felt alone with Shannon saying goodbye to someone who knew Father. Someone who knew the real Father anyway. Not that darkspawn from his nightmares. He couldn't help it and shed a tear. Shannon tried to do the same, however, her darkspawn form didn't allow any crying. All she could accomplished was a lipless grimace.

Shannon turned her attention back to Lila. The baby smiled at her. A smile, Juli assumed, that brought Shannon a great deal of happiness, but at the same time, he knew that it brought her a bit of grief as well as she knew this would be the last time she would see Lila's baby grin.

Once again her eyes glanced at Doreen. There was something earnest that was said amongst them with just their gaze.

"Are you ready, Shannon?" Omar's voice came from behind.

If she heard him, she ignored him as she turned her attention to her baby once more. She mumbled something to her Juli couldn't quite catch. She gestured to her father and offered Lila to him. The old man embraced his daughter in a hug as he took the baby. His eyes were two shiny stars as the man was on the verge of tears.

"I'll always love you, Shan." The old man said. His voice was muffled as the great knot of agony held tight at his throat.

Shannon mumbled something, Juli didn't hear it, but he assumed it was the same her Father had said.

The woman pulled away from her Father and still didn't turn from them. Her eyes lingered on her child and Father. Then, almost abruptly, she faced Omar. She nodded sharply and followed the keeper. She didn't even flinch to look back at her baby. dogwood

Doreen looked at Shannon's father and Lila, again almost speaking with her gaze. She nodded at Lila and the old man. Her eyes turned to Juli. They both started following Omar and Shannon.

"Doreen." A soft and sweet voice came from behind.

They both turned to see who it was. The blue-eyed girl wore a white robe, very much like Doreen's, and held a flower with both of her tiny hands.

"Hello. What's your name?" Doreen's hands went to her knees, leveling her body so that she would be face-to-face with the girl.

"Sam."

"What you got there Sam?" Doreen apparently had a way with children, Juli noted.

The girl's blue eyes lowered to look at the white flower she clung to her chest. For a moment she just looked at the four-pedestals beauty. She would twitch her mouth from one side to the other, unsure of what to do.

"Here." She lifted the flower.

Juli wasn't sure if Doreen was acting or not, but her eyelashes blinked, as if she was flustered by the gesture. She pointed a forefinger at her own face, asking if Sam wanted to her take the flower.

The blue-eyed girl gave Doreen a reassuring nod.

"What kind of flower is it?" Doreen slowly took the gift.

There was something beautiful about the scenery. However, in a world where corrupted creatures wander, witches, demons and even dragons exist, the gesture of a before-war offering seemed out of place. Still good for the soul nonetheless, Juli thought to himself.

"I think…" she pressed her small forefinger against her lower lip in thought, "it's a dogwood flower."

"You seem to know a lot about flowers." Doreen lifted her torso back up. She studied the "dogwood flower." Four white pedestals with a dotted green middle made up the gorgeous bloom.

"Theodore is the one that told me the name of it."

 _of course,_ Juli thought.

"Do you like it?" Sam asked expectantly.

"I love it."

The girl smiled and blushed at the complement. "You will defeat the darkspawn, right?" Her face was all hope.

Doreen glanced at Juli. He could see the pressure on her face. He felt the same way; this kid thinks that _we_ are going to defeat the darkspawn? We're just tagging alone with some powerful people that _might_ defeat the witch.

She turned back to the optimistic blue-eyed girl. Doreen's face tried to be as kind as possible. The way she softened her green eyes and furrow reminded Juli of Mother—her face was outlined with tenderness. "We'll try our best."

Sam, satisfied with the answer, smiled blatantly. "Good luck." She headed back for her mom.

"Is it ready, Patrick?" His tone was absolute as he approached the dark-skinned human.

Thin beads of sweat ran down from his hairless head. "Almost." He sounded out of breath and tired. As if he'd been working the whole night. He was studying a chest plate with the same scrutiny Juli had seen study arrows and bows. The man was a perfectionist.

Juli noted that Lou, whom was next to Patrick, wasn't doing any crafting work. He was pouring some black liquid into a wooden bowl.

"Done." Patrick said cheerfully. The human pulled away from the shiny piece of armor. He smiled widely as he was proud of his work. His lips became a flat line as he saw Shannon. Juli could see that he was trying his best to hide his reaction to her looks- so was everyone else.

He turned his attention away from them and produced pauldrons and boots. He offered the whole armor set to Omar. The Keeper took it, and then offered it to Juli.

He stared at the keeper in sheer bewilderment.

"It's for you." Omar said evenly.

He stared at the armor as it glistened off the sun.

"Told you needed better clothes to fight darkspawn, kid"

Juli almost laughed. For all the bad talk about humans he'd heard since he had the ability to build memories, Patrick sure seemed to be the exception. The man had risked his life by going to the Circle of Magi. Maybe not all humans are "merciless beasts," after all.

"Thank you." Juli said to Patrick as he gracefully took the protective gear.

He tried it on. It fit right through his head and it dropped till it met his shoulders. He felt awkward in it as it was light but robust. He noticed that the gauntlets provided protection as he put them on as well. Silver rows of squares went from the wrist to knuckles. Juli didn't think arrows could get through it as he probed the shiny squares with the fingers of his naked hand. What wasn't engraved with silver, was black and thin rubber.

He had his bow and was armored. He was ready to rescue Mother and Tobias at all costs.

"Juli is not the only one getting gifts." Quinn approached them. The mage walked towards them holding a rectangular box in front of him. He strolled towards Doreen.

Her green eyes stared up at him. Her confusion was palpable.

"Open it." Quinn said with an amiable tone.

She lifted the top half of the box. Inside, a brown staff laid. It was very akin to Omar's, except that this one was a lot more limber. And on the top, it held a blue and thin snowflake. Doreen was speechless. For a moment, Juli couldn't see her eyes as her hair covered them. She looked down at the staff as if the wooden stick held the balance of the world and it might tip over if she ever touched it. Her eyes flickered between Juli and the staff.

At first Juli couldn't read her gaze, but then he realized what it meant; she asking if he was ok with this. He realized that after taking that staff, she wouldn't be just a student of Omar's anymore. That staff, was a vow. A commitment to being a mage for the rest of her life. Regardless of whether she could do magic or not, she was still Doreen. She was still the girl that was there when Father passed away. She has been here, getting him through without Mother. She has been there when he needed her most. This girl has always been his best friend. And he had a feeling that she would always be.

He nodded solemnly.

Her naked hand grabbed the staff from the box. Her eyes went from the fragile snowflake to its crescent bottom. She first held with one hand. Then with two. She tilted the stick forward. As if testing its balance. Her eyes went straight to Quinn, "How do I use it?"

The question sounded silly, but she was right; she has never used a staff. At least Juli had never seen her use one.

"You'll know how when the moment comes." Omar chimed in.

Doreen's brow furrowed, turning her face from confused to utterly dumbstruck.

"We're almost ready to go." Marcus said. The ex-templar's tone was low and cautious.

"Give us a minute." Omar said. The keeper turned his attention to Juli and Doreen, "There's an elven tradition you two don't know yet."

"Draw elven Gods in our faces." Doreen cut in.

Everyone gave her an incredulous look.

"What? I read." She said defensively.

Omar suggested that they all painted Fan'Harel on their faces. Everyone at first bucked at the idea, however, the keeper and Omar argued that this would show they weren't afraid of anything— not even the one that betrayed the Gods.


	38. Eva's Terms

Patrick, Lou, Lila, Sam, Sam's family and Shannon's Father stayed behind. Doreen insisted on that someone stronger stayed behind. Omar told her that they were going to be fine as he cast his invisibility spell. Quinn cast a "protective barrier" as well and supported Omar's claim. She seemed so worried about the baby. It wasn't that Juli wanted harm for Lila, but Doreen in particular seemed to care so much for the toddler. Almost as much as Shannon.

They rode the horses that the Templars left behind. Juli rode behind Omar as the keeper flawlessly galloped through. How much more did the mage learn from his days at the Circle of Magi?

Doreen was behind Quinn on another horse. Quinn too, had no problem riding the horse.

Erick had difficulties riding his horse as it knocked him down every time. After several futile attempts at riding the white mount, Theresa gave it a try and the beast seemed to like its new rider. Theodore and Erick were behind Theresa, as the woman galloped fearlessly through the green landscape, which Juli didn't know why, but the path felt quite familiar. Had it been the first time Theresa rode a horse? If it was, she was somehow being successful at it.

The wardens had not trouble at all with the horses. Juli found it quite ironic that Eva rode with Tailor behind hugging her waist as, he'd assumed, the two did not get along well since he'd witnessed their quarrel. However, they were on the horse together. Eva's long white-streaked hair was all over Tailor's face as it was flapped backward by the wind.

Marcus rode with Gyles and Shannon. The new warden was at the front of the four other horses. His style of riding was that of a professional. The way his horse went faster and more balanced than the others, told Juli that he had done this many times. It made sense; he used to be a Templar. The Chantry gave them unimaginable resources to hunt down mages. And at times, to kill them. Was the man really rectifying his mistakes? All the murder and who knows what else, was a human really capable of such redemption? Regardless of whether the man was being genuine or not, they had to trust him. He was the only one that knew the whereabouts of this witch that was "training intelligent darkspawn." He was the only one who knew where _Mother_ was. _Juli_ had to trust Marcus.

 _—_

The wardens insisted that they made a quick stop at a hamlet. They were rather surprised when they found what was left of it. Corpse, debris and charred huts, that's all they found. Whatever happened here was recent, as the black thick smoke still smoldered from some huts. They frantically searched for any survivors, there were none. Eva managed to find a human girl that still had her limbs. However, Theodore, the healer, couldn't save her as it was too late. They assumed she had asphyxiated as her face was coated black with smoke.

Evan knelt next to the diseased girl, "Her mom cooked us a meal." Her voice was croaky. "They let us stay in their homes."

Gyles, and Tailor shared glances, they understood Eva's pain.

"For the Maker, I swear those bastards will pay." Her voice was the threatening hiss of a snake.

Juli didn't know how to react. He didn't know the girl. He didn't know the people that lived here. However, he understood part of Eva's pain. He had lost Father and Uncle. Loosing someone you love is like loosing a part of you. Father took away with him Juli's love for hunting. Uncle's took away many truths that Juli wanted to hear. Juli wondered what this girl took away from Eva. A part of her soul, perhaps? Whatever it was, it fostered a great deal of pain inside of her. The warden kept staring at the body as it laid on the ground. A pale girl wearing a type of clothing Juli had never seen before. She wore tight green trousers. And a blouse without sleeves. Her hair was long and gilded like Erick's. It's not fair, Juli thought, that this keeps happening. Even if she is a human, and they, in general, are not the advocates of "let's be nice to elves." His eyes slow glanced at Marcus. There is good people amongst them. And this girl looked about his age. She had a whole life ahead of her. Not fair.

He walked toward the woman that drowned in grief. "I know how you feel." Eva still didn't turn away from the girl. He went on, "I lost my Father when I was seven. He's a darkspawn now that kidnapped Mother." Juli couldn't believe that he could utter such words. As the sentence escaped his mouth, every syllable was a needle poking his throat. Trying to endure the pain, he put a hand on the woman's broad shoulder, "you should be glad that, hopefully, she's resting in peace. "

"Go back." The woman snapped.

Juli winced in confusion.

She brusquely rose to her feet, almost knocking Juli to the floor. She trudged towards Quinn. Her gait was that of a giant, careless of what's in her way. "This is madness." She demanded, "they're kids, and you want to use them as little soldiers?" Her tone was definitive.

"They have Mother." His voice was a whisper comparing it to that of Eva's.

"That's brave of you, young man." She turned, she didn't hide the steel on her face from Juli, "but these are darkspawn and demons we're facing here."

"I can manage darkspawn, you saw me back at the camp." He tried to level his tone to hers, however, all his twelve-year-old gorge allowed was a high-pitched plead.

"He can handle himself, Eva." Tailor spoke softly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She was a mage," her black finger pointed sharply at the lifeless body of what used to be a girl, "and she couldn't handle herself. What makes you think that a Dalish boy with a 'magical how' can survive against the darkspawn?" Her tone hadn't lost any cadence, however, there was a hint of respect as she regarded the old warden.

The white bearded man gazed intensely at Eva. Their eyes spoke that earnest language that Juli had noticed between Shannon and Doreen.

"Fine." The sharp volume of her voice came back. "But you." Her gauntleted finger pointed accusingly at Doreen and Juli. "You two, snatch your people out of there, and go back to your camp. Leave the darkspawn to us. It is our job to fight the foul darkspawn, not yours." Her fiery eyes came back to the lifeless girl, "I won't lose anyone else."

There was no arguing. They all nodded. Her word was final.


	39. Her Death Wish

There was something uncanny about the path feeling so familiar. He didn't know how, but he was almost certain that he had been through here before. There were a few trees scattered throughout the green prolific terrain.

For a while it was green grass and the occasional oak tree. The sun was at its peak. The shiny star beamed down ruthlessly on them as the sky was as clear as the sea. Beads of sweat ran down Juli's face. His long hair stuck to his face with sweat, just like seaweed sticks to boulders on the shore.

Eventually, they came to a halt. Immediately, his bow warned him that there was a threat near them. He heard a silent scream from the bow in his head, as if the arc of wood felt and someone tortured it. His eyes fixed on the bow, he didn't see the line of Templars that were in front of them.

That authoritarian voice had caught his attention, "By the power bestowed upon me by the chantry,"

Juli shuddered as his ears heard this. He turned his attention to the Templars and his mind had trouble perceiving what his eyes saw.

There had to be dozens of them in horse and fully armored. If not, hundreds.

The voice got louder now that all his senses focused on the Templar holding the scroll in front of him. He read it as a priest would read in front of seated believers.

"You're all arrested for treachery..."

An arrow went through the unprotected part of his forehead. It went through his head, knocking the helmet off to the ground. The metal empty head left a trail of blood in the air before hitting the ground and bouncing to the side. The human stood still for a moment. His eyes opened and unblinking. Then effortlessly his knees fell under him, and the wind knocked the corpse forward, falling on his belly. The ground thruster the arrow upwards as the lifeless head came in contact with it, splatting more blood and grey matter all over the back of his skull.

Shannon already charged toward the Templars. She shot arrows consecutively as she ran towards them. Her body was already the one of a darkspawn. Her human features were completely gone. All of her hair had already fallen out, and what was left was a blackened scalp. The black spots on her face spread throughout her body. Turning her tanned skin as black and wicked as a rotten worm.

"What are you all staring at, go!" Omar shouted.

"Are we going to leave her to die?" Erick's tone was defiant. Although his expression showed nothing but regret as he'd disrespected the keeper.

"She died the minute the taint got to her. But at the very least this way, she would die with dignity." Eva Said gravely.

For a moment Erick stared at the battle. Shannon fearlessly fought two Templars that charged towards her. She, amazingly enough, fended them off by holding her daggers against their swords. As agile as she was, the entire entourage of templars charged towards her from all sides. She had no chance against such vast numbers.

"let's not waste our chance." There was no arguing against Quinn. Shannon would have been left behind to die. Was that Shannon anymore?

As they left someone who knew Father behind, Juli heard the clack of daggers against swords. The sounds of battle started fainting. They'd thought they left all the Templars behind, however, he saw that at least five horses followed them. Howling templars rode them. Their swords in front of them, as if playing a game of joust.

"They're on our heels!" Theresa shouted from behind as her horse was trying to keep up with them.

Erick tried to shoot the templars off their horses. However, his efforts were useless as the onyx arrows bounced off their shields.

Omar's horse started to slow down. The keeper's staff materialized on his hand. The brown stick was first green light tin his hand and then animated itself with the brown rugged features of a thick oak tree branch.

"Get down!" The keeper bellowed.

Juli buried his head into the back of Omar's white robe.

The keeper lifted his staff as if he could touch the sky with it. The white snowball on top of it became as bright as a star in the night sky. White thunderous streaks of lighting bristled from it, shooting straight for the templars.

Juli gritted his teeth as he could feel the ground shaking beneath him from the power the spell possessed. He glanced behind him and caught a glimpse of the powerful blot as it hit one templar and chained towards the others. The first one it hit was tossed with incredible force behind his horse. The brown mount kept galloping as if it's rider never left it. Juli's mind didn't want to believe it, but he knew his eyes didn't lie to him.

As the white streak tried to bash into the next templar, his shield deflected the attack. The others brandished their shields and the same happened.

"Their shields are immune to magic!" Omar was barely understandable as talking riding a horse, and doing magic was not easy task.

The templars were closing in. Their skills outmatched that of Marcus as the new warden, Juli could see, was slower and sloppier than the templars on the chase.

Juli tried to draw one of his arrows, however before he could shoot, Doreen lifted her staff in that same manner that the keeper had done before. Sunlight glistened off the blue snowflake. A shower of frost bursted at an angle from it. The frozen stream hit the ground and the grass turned into a frozen lake. The templars now aware of the ice tried to pulled on the horses hard by the leash, however, they were too close and slipped. Their mounts stumbled forward; knocking their riders down to the grass.


	40. Back Home

They left the Templars behind. Shannon was left behind. A part of Juli still felt guilty for that. He felt guilty for not trying harder. As bad as he felt, he noticed Doreen felt worse.

Her green eyes were distant. It seemed as if she was not aware of anything. Mesmerized by the endless land of green. She did not cry, however, Juli could see that Shannon dying at the hand of templars infuriated her as her eyes glared at the back of Marcus, whose horse was just right in front and to the side of Quinn's.

Juli wanted to question the new warden as it was still a bit pat that templars would just run into them. Yet, he didn't have to do anything to stop Marcus as the warden himself pulled on the leash of his mount.

He didn't let Omar stop the horse. He jumped off, walked with a heavy and determined gait to get answers from the ex-advocate of the Chantry. With an arrow coated in blue flames and pulled hard on the string, he faced Marcus. "Tell me, why shouldn't I shoot you right now?"

No one argued. They all wanted answers. All eyes were fixed on Marcus.

His hair was not smooth anymore, it was curled and unfixed. "I didn't know." His voice was low and flat.

 _He's telling the truth._

Even though he trusted his bow more than anything, he didn't exonerate the idea of Marcus putting some kind of hex on it. After all, the other templars had shields immune to magic, so why wouldn't he have similar resources that tricked the bow.

"He's telling the truth, Juli. " Nevertheless, she was the only one he trusted, besides the bow.

Without lowering the bow he turned to look at those big green eyes. He knew the sparkle in them was for Shannon. He knew that Doreen wouldn't lie to him. He glanced around at everyone. All eyes were fixed on whatever was behind Marcus.

"Is this some kind of trick?" The keeper snapped.

Juli was baffled as he knew Omar didn't refer to Marcus letting templars know their whereabouts.

"No," he said plainly, "this is where the chantry thinks this witch is." He gestured with both of his arms behind him.

They all craned their heads. It made sense now why the in the way here, he'd had felt the path to be so familiar. Juli couldn't believe what he was looking at. The green thicket at the end that went from the stem of an oak tree to another, the brown tents, the traps, and even the hill that went down to the river.

"What is it?" Gyles asked intensely as he saw the mortification on their faces.

The keeper was agape. "This used to be our camp." He said.

They still stared in disbelief. They were all frozen by dread. Afraid of what they might find if they walk into the piece of land that used to be their home. Fearful of finding out why the tents weren't blackened and charred anymore. Terrified of discovering the truth behind this mirage.

"Let's not let Shannon's death be in vain." Theresa said as she walked towards the camp. She was willing to sacrifice everything to rescue Mother and Tobias.

Tailor grabbed her elbow before she could make it past him, "Wait, this is more than just a camp." As aged as his voice was, the old mage managed to make his tone definitive.

He was right. Juli hadn't realized it yet, but his bow screamed silently in his mind as soon as they stopped. A scream of terror. The same scream that he'd heard from it when he saw the dozens of templars that were ready to attack them.

The old warden walked slowly into the camp. Every step he took, the staff came first. He placed the brown stick on the floor, and with his right hand, he pulled himself into an uncoordinated saunter.

"Be careful with the…"

Erick's warning was futile as Tailor, with a casual wave of his left hand, stopped the incoming arrow in mid-flight. Even the traps functioned perfectly, fixed by this witch, darkspawn or whoever was here before.

The wrinkled warden reached the middle of the camp. For a moment Tailor just stood there as if waiting for something to happen. Then he tilted his staff forward, and tiny ripples, like those made by a paddle on water, appeared in front of him.

"It's here." Tailor said without turning away from the invisible wall in front of him.

They all walked cautiously towards the warden, still afraid of what used to be their home.

"What's here, Father?" Eva asked Tailor. Her voice was all concern and fear.

"The fade." Quinn said.

"Are you sure?" Omar's eyes bore into Quinn's as he couldn't believe what he'd heard.

"You can't feel it because the witch is using your emotional attachment as leverage. The fact that you're fond of this place makes you weak."

Theresa once again tried to waltz into the place. Is she nuts? The fade was that place where lost souls and demons wandered off to. If one walks into it, the possibility of coming out alive from it are slim. And were Mother and Tobias in there and had been alive all this time?

Tailor glared at the stern brave woman that was ready to sacrifice herself. "We're not going to get anything done if we just stand here." She didn't scold him, however, her gaze was that of a commander— her decision was final.

She walked through the wall, making ripples that were parallel to the ground. Erick rushed through behind her.

Juli's bow screamed and creaked.

 _Don't go in there._

Bu he had to. Mother was inside this mirage and he was going go get her. Even if that meant entering the infamous fade. He shot glances at Omar, Quinn and Doreen. He didn't need to voice his thoughts, they knew he'd had come here for a reason, and that was to rescue Mother at all costs.

"Let me go in first." Omar said plainly.

Juli could see his arrogant tone was gone. The keeper wanted to keep him safe. He sure was grateful for that. Juli gave him a nod.

As much as the keeper hid it, Juli knew that Omar was afraid. At first he hesitated as he looked at the mirage in front of him. Then Quinn made a gesture with his right hand as he shifted to be next to Omar. The keeper and Quinn shared an intense gaze. It was as if the two had forgotten more people were here. Juli had seen this before. No. Not seen it, he'd had felt it. The way the keeper looked at Quinn, was the same way he had looked at Doreen after she kissed him. These two…were more than just "old friends."

Their fingers interlocked. Then they walked forward, a black and white train was left behind by their long robes. Juli could see that Doreen was not aware of this either. She glanced at Juli and gave him a shy a smile. She was happy for them. The two unknown lovers walked into the vertical barrier. The invisible wall once again made ripples that seemed to go on forever through the air.

He noticed that Theodore was still up in the horse. The kid shuddered from fear. Juli didn't blame him. The healer could not had been older than eight years old and he had to walk into what was a home for demons and who knows what else.

"Come on in." Quinn's head floated in midair as he peered form the wall.

The healer, the wardens, Juli and Doreen stepped forward. They all got through the barrier. Juli's head spun and his whole life flashed before his eyes.

 _—_

Mother's face was utterly covered with sweat. She held a baby in her hands. She lay in the ground, her head craned upwards by Father's hand. The both looked at the pale baby that wailed. A saggy chord went form his belly to Mother's. Is that me? He tried to reach them, however, the scenery disappeared.

 _A white flash._

The same pale kid. His hair was longer now. It didn't go to his shoulder like it did now. The kid in the memory had his hair short and puffy. Father looked younger as he tried to show the kid how to use the bow. Father gently held the red bow in front of the kid, making a gesture of pulling the string of the bow. I…I remember this. Once again he tried to reach with his hand. Be with the Father he lost.

Everything went to sheer black. His eyes opened to see a damp and uneven roof. Doreen came into the corner of his right eye.

"He's awake." Her head turned away from him.

"What happened?" Juli felt out of place. For a moment he didn't remember where he was or what he was doing here. However, he abruptly got up. He surprisingly enough still held his bow on his hands. He pointed the bow at the demon in front of him.

"Who are you?" His voice echoed throughout the chamber or cave he was in.

Her big green eyes were emeralds that almost illuminated the dim room. His bow told him she was the real Doreen. He hesitated to lower the bow. What if this is another illusion? He stared intensely, and finally lowered the weapon. He looked at ground, once again ashamed because he threatened the girl he trusted the most.

"I'm sorry." His voice didn't echo now as it was now a whisper.

"What did you see?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. Her voice was as solemn as ever.

"Father and Mother." He lifted his head off the ground and gazed at her face which was half-lightened by a green light. "I went through my memories."

His _memories._ That triggered something in him. This place, he had been here before. The green torches that hung from the bricked walls were the same he saw when he and Mother were chained. He walked around the chamber and studied it. He knew this wasn't the exact room he was in, but the resemblance was uncanny.

"What is it?" Omar asked from behind him. His voice a loud echo that was the voice of fear.

"I know this place." He half-turned his head to look at him. The wardens curiously walked around the cave. Theodore was barely visible as his tiny body hid behind Omar's. Quinn was a couple of feet away from Omar, studying the bars of a cell that was inside this cave. Theresa and Erick were next to Doreen, their eyes wary of any dangers that may come upon them.

Omar walked towards him, "What do you mean you know this place?"

"I mean that I saw this place in one of my nightmares. Mother and I were chained to the wall." His mind raced, trying to remember every detail of the nightmare that might be helpful. "Stairs." The word was like a key that unlocked a puzzle.

"Stairs?" The keeper winced, baffled, as if the word was not english.

"Stairs. There were stairs. Father…the darkspawn that looks like Father, I mean, came to us from above through an entrance that had a set of stairs."

"Found it." Marcus called out.

The young warden stood near a vaulted entrance. Attached to it a wooden door that was decorated with two rectangular iron bars, which were perpendicular to one another.

They all rushed towards him. All eyes glared at him with disbelief. Nobody was still sure if he could be trusted. For all they knew, this could all be part of his master plan. Maybe Shannon dying was part of the long ruse to slaughter them all. However, what other choice did they have? They were trapped here and only Andraste knew if they were going to get out, or even be able to rescue Mother or Tobias for that matter.

When Juli got to the door, a steep, black and greasy, like surfaces on the eerie place, staircase was beneath him. Eva was going to take the first step into the rung, however, Tailor gripped her by the elbow.

"Isn't it a little bit too convenient that you happen to find this door? And that herd of Templars happened to find us?" Tailor's black eyes shimmered in the dim room. They bore into Marcus' as if they were laser beams that would burn the blonde-haired warden.

"He's telling the truth." Doreen snapped.

Everyone gave her a dubious look. "How do you know such things, young lady?" The warden mage asked.

 _He's telling the truth._

Doreen and the bow couldn't be both wrong. "She's right." He gazed at the Templar, whose head was angled towards the ground, "He's telling the truth. My bow told me."

Eva didn't wait any longer and headed down the stairs. They all followed her.

Every step Juli took, the rungs creaked loudly. He could feel the dust raining down below the stairs from old wood. When they went deeper into the creaky and dim pit, the air felt colder. Like the frozen air of the Frostbacks. However, this chilled was not natural as it occasionally brought a stench with it. The awful smell of rotten meat was unbearable. Going down the steps felt as if they headed for death itself.

"Does this have an end?" Erick asked. His voice seemed to have reverberated louder and farther than when someone spoke when they were in higher ground.

No one answered him. Or rather, none of them had an answer to give him. None of them knew in what forsaken place they were. At first when they were at the top of the stairs, the green torches that hung from the walls gave enough light for them to tell if there was even a next step to keep going. Now that they had gone down for what felt like hours, there were less torches. In some occasions there were no torches, leaving them in complete darkness. Not knowing what came next was torture.

"Shouldn't we go back? These stairs seem to go nowhere." Juli couldn't see Theodore's face, but he knew that the young healer must had been horrified.

"He has a point" Erick's voice echoed from the rear.

"No." Eva said definitively.

"You really want to die, don't you?" Gyles asked gravely.

"Look down idiot." It was so dark that no one was sure which direction was down.

Juli turned his head in the direction he thought was down. On the first try he didn't see it, but then he looked in all directions.

It was weak and small, but he caught sight of what looked like a green fading dot in the distance. As soon as he everybody else noticed it, he felt the pace of everyone pickup as the cry of the old staircase got louder. The tiny dot of light became bigger as they closed in. Juli wondered, is it a torch? If it is, he thought, he dreaded that in the time it might take to go back up and find Mother and Tobias, they would have died by them. It was a harrowing and frightening thought.

They kept following the ever-growing green light. Sweet poured down Juli's face. He assumed the others were soaked in sweat as well since they all had been running for… half hour? Hours? Not being able to see the sun or the sky to tell time was frustrating. They kept running down and then they saw what the green light ahead of them actually was. A wooden door, similar to the one they saw at the beginning of the staircase, was open. From it; green light was sent to the last few steps of the wooden stairs.

Now that the light from the room illuminated them Juli didn't need his bow to know that even the grey wardens were fearful of what laid beyond this door. They all stopped as Eva raised a gauntleted fist.

"What is it Eva?" Tailor asked between breaths. The old man breathed heavily, however somehow, after all the running, he managed.

One had to wonder how the weary old man managed to keep up with them. From all of the wardens, he was the oldest and, oddly enough, the strongest. Juli had been sensing the sheer strength of his magic since the wardens set foot on the camp.

"Look." She pointed towards the door.

All of their heads crept from the unhinged side of the doorframe. As soon as Juli managed to have a peek, he had no doubt; the green torches, the damp walls, and the constraints attached to the wall on the far end of the room—this was the place of the nightmare. The place where he saw Mother chained to the wall. The place where the darkspawn that looked like Father threatened to kill Mother if Juli didn't come alone. However, now that he looked at the room through the lenses of reality, it wasn't quite what he'd expected. He expected Mother to be chained to the wall, a horde of darkspawn ready to attack, the psychotic darkspawn, and, possibly the witch, which according to the information provided by the wardens; she was the mind behind all of this madness. There was no sign of Mother, the darkspawn with Father's face or even the witch for that matter.

"I'm the one who has to go." Juli tried his best to keep have cadence in his voice as he was asking adults to sacrifice the life of a child.

"Go on, then." They gave her the look of a parent when their child curses.

"What?" Theresa said defensively, "I can be funny."

Erick's let out a small laugh.

"This is not time for jokes." Omar said plainly.

Theresa's mirthful face sagged to its natural sturdy form. She quickly glanced at the keeper, feeling reprehended for trying to be funny in such dire instance.

"She has point," Quinn gazed at Omar, speaking that silence language that could only be understood amongst lovers, "if this darkspawn or whatever he is wants Juli, it might only show up if Juli goes alone."

The keeper immediately scowled at the suggestion. Him and Omar stared at each other, it was as if they argued and they had forgotten that there were any more people with them.

Quinn place a hand on Omar's shoulder, "You know there is not other way. We do not know how powerful this witch is."

Quinn's lover seemed to give this deep thought. The half part of his face that was green and brightened by the light from the room looked trustful of his lover, however, the other sunk in the doubtful pool of darkness. Juli noticed as Omar sighed heavily as he noticed the keeper's cheeks inflate.

"You're right." The weight with which the words came was obvious. This was a tough decision for Omar as he had promised Cathy that he would protect Juli.

He turned to Juli. Juli noticed the half of his face contort into a grimace. His thin and long hands hovered above Juli's black mane.

Juli looked up and his eyes trembled as they were horrified by what they caught; white snakes of lightning jumped between his lithe fingers.

"It's ok Juli."

That's what he said before turning my bow into a deadly weapon.

Before he could voice any objections he felt a tiny trickle that went from his brain to the end of his spine. He had expected something big to happen; like hearing his bow scream, however, nothing happened.

"This will protect you from any demonic forces." The keeper eyes lowered as if he had regretted what he'd done.

If it meant rescuing Mother, he was willing to risk it all— even his own life if it came down to that. He shot a glance at the camp, for lack of a better term; his family. Besides Mother, this was the only family he had left. His eyes landed on the person he trusted the most amongst them—Doreen. Her left eye sparkled with a tear that shimmered almost as bright as sunlight. As soon as Juli's eyes met hers, she steadied herself. For the slightest fraction of a second, those big green eyes spoke to him. He knew the tears on them came from the dreading thought of losing him. He tried to speak softly with his eyes, hoping that she would understand that he had to do this.

"Are you ok, your eye is twitching?" Doreen asked confused. She went down the steps towards him, trying to figure out if she could help him somehow with his eye problem.

Teasing me again. Really? Juli felt annoyed…until Doreen grabbed him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Be careful." She whispered in his ear.

He pulled away form her and nodded. Juli could see that the wardens didn't love the idea of sending a kid to do their job as their faces were more a frown rather than the grimace of worry Theresa and Erick bared on theirs.


	41. The Couple

He steeped out of the staircase and into the room where the stench of rotten flesh was stronger than ever. To his left and right, there were torches emitting a green light which he knew were not regular torches as he could feel the impure and unnatural magic that came from them. Below those torches, thick black metal bars made what looked like cells. Inside the rooms, was a wooden cot. Unlike the ones one would find at a Dalish camp, these had no vines on top of them. One might just mistake them for a plane piece of wood.

He kept walking forward, unable to not help to stare dumbly at the barred chambers. When his face turned forth, he couldn't believe what his eyes saw; a rectangular wooden table with two people sitting on it. He couldn't quite see them as the green blaze did not give him sight of their faces. With bow at the ready, he crept towards them. As he closed in, he was able to tell one of them was a woman as her black long hair cascaded forward, covering half of her pale face. The other person he thought it to be a man. He had his squared back to Juli.

His bow did not warn him of any danger, but one can ever be too careful.

"Honey, you made it." The woman said with a wide smile.

He wanted his bow to tell him that this was the witch playing some kind of trick on him. Yet, no warning came from his magical arc. Dumbstruck by what he was seeing, he tried to keep his mind straight.

He wanted to point his bow at the woman that looked like Mother. But she was so identical to Mother; her long black hair, the thin body, and her soft eyes. His mind didn't want to believe it, but this was indeed Mother. "Who are you?" He tried his best to sound tough, but once again his twelve-year-old body didn't allow his speech such cadence—making his question sound like a plead rather than the hard question he tried to articulate.

The woman swung her head backwards, black trails fell on her back. She extended a limber hand over the edge of the wooden table. "It's me, Cathy."

Her bony hands were identical to Mother's. This _is_ Mother. He took her hand, "We have to go Mother." He asked as he was already trying to pull her away from this eerie and evil place.

Her face softened, as it always did for her beloved son—outlined with nothing but tenderness. "Where? I have everything I need here." She gestured to the man that sat across from her. Juli followed her hand motion and almost his whole body staggered backwards as he was shocked by what his eyes showed him.

"But you're…" he couldn't mouth the words as he was looking at Father.

"Dead?" Father smiled widely. The tanned skin of his cheeks inflated by the smile. "Did you really think that witch could beat me?" He cocked his head, gesturing at the far end of wall.

He hadn't notice it before, but there was someone chained to the wall. At first he thought it was Mother, however, that thought was swept away by the purple contrast of the woman's skin. She was naked. Purple skin bearing every part of her. Her head hung. Her body was covered with bruises and tiny trickles of blood.

Father extended out a hand. "You have nothing to worry about, little hunter."

He turned to look at Father. Dumbfounded by everything, he couldn't help it and extended out his hand. He could finally be with Mother and Father. Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad as long as Mother and Father were with him. Perhaps the whole clan could live down here, away from the danger and harassment of Thedas. Away from Templars. Happy and away from the dangers of the world. His fingers could feel the warmth that radiated from Father's skin. Finally after all, I could, after all of this, be with Father…forever and ever. At last their fingers touched one another, two puzzle pieces that were meant to be coming together.

They held hands for the slightest second. A second that brought all that Juli ever wanted; to be with Mother and Father. That moment of utopia lasted until a lighting bolt jumped form Juli's hand, hurling Father across the room. He hit the wall hard and fast.

"Father!" Juli ran towards Father to help him get up. Before he reached down to him, Kurl got up almost abruptly.

"You son of a bitch." The voice was almost a whisper and _different_ from Father's. "I told you to come alone." His voice had a touch of cynicism in it as if he was amused by everything he said. "But no. You brought that obnoxious keeper with you, didn't you?"

If he had been confused before, he was now just frustrated by everything. His mind raced trying to figure out what was going on. Racing trying to not believe that his nightmares were not real. However, as he shot a careful look at the woman sitting on the table, he realized that this, where he was and what he felt, was the nightmare in the real world. The tenderness on her face was gone, replaced by a wry smile that manifested nothing but pure malevolency. Her smooth black hair was replaced by hard and old trails that went down to her knees. Black hair that was highlighted with silver white.

"Didn't your mommy ever tell you one must keep one's word?" Her voice appeared to be coming from everywhere as it echoed in the damp and abandoned chamber.

"Where is—"

"Sh!" The witch cut him off, "You don't get to ask questions, you insolent child." Her impatience could only be matched by a viper ready to devour its victim. "Now, where is that keeper?"

Juli's body shuddered with fear when he looked behind the witch. Mother was attached to the wall by chains. Her whole body naked and bruised. Her head hung, chin touching the beginning of the division of her chest. What he thought to be the witch was Mother. Tobias laid next to her, chained as well. He too was bruised and his head hung, however, he was not naked as he wore what looked like ripped trousers that reached just before his knees.

Juli's eyes filled with tears. He couldn't help but to silently weep as he witnessed this awful reality. Are they alive? He couldn't really tell as neither Mother or Tobias seemed to not have noticed if anyone else was in the room. Their heads hanging in the air, their eyes fixed on the ground as stars in the night sky having nowhere to look but what's under them.

Juli made a sudden jump as a cold and long nail caressed his right cheek, "Don't cry, little hunter. If you tell me where your people are, maybe, I'll spare your whore of a mom."

"Get away from me!" With bow at the ready, he wheeled and told his bow to give him something to kill the bastard.

Juli hesitated at the sight of the resemblance, a face _identical_ to Father's gave him a smile that bared sharp yellow teeth. Fangs that resembled the denture of a dragon, however, at a much smaller scale.

The white and empty eyes of the creature turned to look at him. He couldn't tell what his eyes were doing as they didn't seem to be making any movement, just two white golfballs inside those rugged eye sockets. "Ah, yes. The red bow. I gave it to you when you were seven, did I not?"Juli's hand trembled at the nock of the arrow, "That wasn't you. You're not Father." As he spoke he tasted the salt of the tears he had shed.

For another moment those empty eyes just laid on Juli. Then the creature made with them what appeared to be a furrow with the hairless curves above them. "Did you ever wonder why you can do magic?" He first crossed his arms. Then raised his forearm and placed his taloned, blackened and unnatural hand under his chin. The impatience and human motion of such creature made Juli shiver inside. For another moment he waited. In that moment, Juli felt something from his bow. Something he couldn't understand, a whisper that spoke an alien language. The darkspawn grew impatient and let out a heavy breath, "You see," he made a circle with his unnatural hand, "we're all connected. Including her."

Is he talking about the witch? How can I be connected to such foul beings? For some reason, the two fingers that held the arrow did not let go of the nock. He made a dreadful turn of his head. The witch baring that wide and wry smile, and nodded.

As if he could read his thoughts, the darkspawn answered the question he had only thought to himself, "Yes, I am talking about her. The three of us, if you are kind enough to join us, can bring back the Dales. Elves will rule over Thedas once again, as it was meant to be." He made a lifting gesture with both of his arms, "Join my army Juli, and you could be commander of it."

He felt the ground under him rattle. At first he thought it was his head spinning, but then he saw the horde of white eyes that peered out from the barred cells. Dozens of darkspawn extended out their arms through the thin slits the thick and black iron cylinders made. As a lion devouring meat, their claws and corrupted arms made same motion just outside the cages.

Juli wanted to let go of the arrow. To shoot this psychopath of a darkspawn and end this once and for all. However, his whole body quavered from the effort of even pulling the arrow back to release and shoot an arrow blazed with blue fire.

"Having some trouble trying to let go to the bow?" The darkspawn asked with that uncanny casual tone of his.

Juli felt frustrated. Dumbstruck by everything. Why aren't you working? Work you stupid bow! The unfamiliar and strange language became louder and louder. It became so loud that his eyes searched all around, trying to figure out if maybe it was the growls of the darkspawn he was mistaking for words, however, he realized it wasn't them when the voice said his name.

 _Juli, come with me._

After that, the voice kept on saying words he couldn't understand.

"Come with me Juli." A sneer gave way to the hideous denture of the darkspawn.

"Never..." His bow began pulling him forward, toward the darkspawn that had the facade of Father.

He couldn't help it, it was as if his hands were glued to the bow. It pulled him against his will forward. He gritted his teeth as he tried to bear the sheer force that pushed him, his rubber boots squeaked as they slid unwillingly ahead.

"Why are you resisting Juli? Aren't you tired of all the _shit_ that elves have to put up with in the world?" The creature said as it made a beckoning gesture with its bumpy hand.

Juli, with his teeth pressed hard, couldn't answer as he tried to let go of the bow, that somehow the wicked darkspawn controlled.

"You want to bring back the Dales by starting a Blight? You are a wacky one." A woman's voice echoed and silenced all of the growling darkspawn.

Juli turned to see who it was—Theresa charged towards them. The daggers at her hands glistened in the weak green light. Juli could see that the darkspawn was indeed taken by surprise as its maw and empty eyes widened. With a great war cry, she pushed herself to the air and came down hard on the creature.

Her momentum took it down hard. It's claws were on top of him as she pressed her daggers hard against them.

"JULI!" Doreen's shout bounced off the damp walls.

She ran towards them. Juli could see the freckle of snow that hovered above her, as a star in the night, it almost illuminated her face. Her green eyes didn't sparkled as they were narrowed and focused. As she got closer, a sphere of frost hovered above her staff. The white and frozen ray went straight for the witch.

Surprisingly enough the purple-skinned mage still had that sinister smile of hers as the powerful streak of frost pierced the air towards her. When it got to her, it went straight for the chest. The witch's sternum was all white with ice. For the shortest second, Juli thought she had done it. The girl he loved had defeated his nightmares. The romantic moment was broken by a manic laughter. A laughter that Juli's ears recognized instantly—the laughter of his nightmares.

Like a madwoman, she guffawed hysterically. She lifted her head, which was still covered with her long silver-highlighted black hair. As soon as she looked up, the frozen plate at her chest shattered, the broken blue shards burst into the air and abruptly fell to the ground.

Juli hadn't realized it yet but the bow, for some reason, didn't control him anymore. The voice that spoke the alien language language was no more. He didn't waste any time as he spun on his heel and shot the witch. The arrow coated itself with that green smoke he had shot Tailor with. With great speed it thrusted itself through her chest. As it hit flesh, it made the same sound as a spear going through leather—she wasn't made of flesh. Even though her laughter was stopped by the arrow, she did not bleed or seemed to have experienced any pain as her sneer was as wide as ever.

All the green smoke Juli had thought to be the most powerful element of his bow only made her cough. "Is that all you got?" She said between coughs as she casually waved the smoke away from her. She effortlessly pulled the arrow free from her chest, didn't even flinch at the action.

They both stared in sheer shock as this…witch, demon or whatever it was, appeared to be indestructible. Their shock was turned into utter terror as the witch seemed to have disregarded them, head lowered and the only thing uncovered by her long hair was that long sneer, she walked towards the darkspawn that stole Father's body.

Juli thought that Theresa would be fighting fiercely. However, she appeared to be mesmerized as she startled by Father…the darkspawn, it's so hard to discern them. Her daggers were lowered to her sides.

"K…Kurl." The woman's whisper was just loud enough for Juli and Doreen to hear it as they were on the other side of the room.

"How…I thought you were dead." The woman's voice was starting to rise in a slope of mirthfulness.

"Oh yes. I picked you up from the streets." It said as it was trying to remember something.

The rigid and stern hunter had a childish smile on her face. She thought that this was the same person that brought her in to clan Velthrin, clothed and fed her.

Before Juli or Doreen warned her, the vile creature took advantage and pushed both of his blackened feet against her gut. She flew through room, her back hit one of the barred chambers hard. There a was definitive clack when her armor hit the black bars. She wailed in pain.

An arrow swept through the dark. It went through one of the eyes of Father's face. The blank eyes too made the same sound Juli's arrow made when it went through the witch's chest.

The darkspawn leapt to its feet. It was hard to believe a darkspawn could have such flexibility. With an arrow peering from the back of its skull, the wicked creature frantically looked around him—searching the one responsible for his battered eye. The inhuman eyes of the creature landed on Erick, whom was helping Theresa get up. The sturdy woman was badly injured as her whole body shook. A red smear covered the left half of her forehead.

"See," it pulled the arrow, just like the witch had done, effortlessly free from its eye. "We don't need to kill you. Just tell me where that keeper is, and maybe we'll let you live."

As wounded as she was, Theresa managed to glare contemptuously at the witch and darkspawn. Her blood-coated lips didn't need to utter any words as her look was the one of a warrior willing to die for her people.

"If it's me that you want, then leave her out of this." Omar, with Quinn by his side and wardens on the rear, came from the shadows.

The witch and the darkspawn seemed to have been fascinated by seeing Omar. Their eyes bore into the keeper's.

His empty eye sockets widened at the sight of Quinn. "Who the hell are you?" Father's voice came back to the wicked creature.

"His lover." The witch said plainly.

Omar and Quinn's expressions were unreadable as they held their staffs in front of them, ready for anything these demons would throw at them. The growl of the incarcerated increased as soon as the grey wardens came into their view. Now their claws tried to reach out to them, viciously eager to get their hands on the warriors. Juli squinted his eyes, however, there was no sight of Theodore.

The foul creature started laughing hysterically. "I didn't know you had in you keeper. " He moved a long and unnatural finger up and down in front of h, "we were all always a bit suspicious of you."

"You're not Kurl." Omar said coldly.

"Enough talk." Quinn said plainly as he tilted his staff forward, white thunderous lighting erupted from the blue diamond. The bolt divided itself into two, heading towards the two demonic creatures.

Before the streaks got to them, the witch's hair grew long and _slapped_ the lightening away. One of them went upwards, it hit the roof and the entire cavern shook. Rubble rained down on them, making the whole view dusty and unclear. The other one, Juli didn't see as brown dust permeated everything.

"Juli." He heard Doreen's voice nearby.

He tried to follow her voice and a hand grabbed his. However, whatever grabbed him didn't feel like flesh, so he thought he had grabbed Doreen's robe as his wrist felt engulfed by something rigid and surprisingly smooth. He tried to cover his eyes as the dust tried to get into them. When everything cleared, he finally had a good look at what he was grabbing. He squinted at his wrist. In the weak light, it looked like a black snake. Yet,when he fiddled with it, he realized it wasn't a snake at all as he felt the strands that made it up—he was holding hair. Out of instinct he let go of it, however as if it had been self aware, the hair wrapped itself around his wrist. It yanked him forward, slamming him hard on the damp and firm floor. He tried pulling away from it, but the strength of the chunk of hair was far greater than his. It kept dragging him across the floor.

A great howl came from everywhere. Then a dagger sliced through hair, a black clump tinted with silver fell lazily to the ground.

"Go get your mother..."Before she could finish, Eva was hurled backwards by more mad hair.

A fireball flew in the distance, it went straight for the hair that had just tossed Eva to the air. The black and long snake brightened with a vibrant orange as the fire burned every fiber that made it into being. Charred hair fell like ash after a great forest fire is put out. Free from hair, he tried to get to his feet. Next to him, Theodore was healing Theresa.

"You'll pay for that!" The witch's shout reverberated across the entire room.

"Bring it on!" Tailor shouted back. If Juli had never seen the man's winkled face before, he would have thought Tailor to be young and strong as his voice was as sturdy as Theresa's and as vigorous as Erick's.

Another ball of fire flew across the room. This time, however, it went straight for the witch's head. Her sneer seemed to be permanent as she never showed anything else under the shadow of her long hair. The orange sphere came at great speed, and yet the demonic mage was as calm as ever. The magical blazed blob dispersed as the evil witch lifted her hand and opened her palm in front of her. Powerful waves of air emerged from her palm. Waves so strong that the bars that kept the dozens of darkdspawn at bay shook. As they weakened the concrete that kept the bars in place, the darkspawn inside started banging their claws into those thick cylinders. Only Andraste knew how many of them were, however, one thing was for sure; the rattled and wicked creatures were soon going to release themselves from their cells.

Juli noticed that Quinn and Omar were conjuring some kind of spell as their staffs appeared to be making an X, Omar's big snowball to the left and Quinn's tiny jewel to the right, both magical wooden sticks were ablaze with blue flames. Their faces drown in blue light.

Juli shuddered inside at the strength of such magic. The essence of the spell was almost intoxicating, for it was that potent.

The witch's wide grin twitched at the corners of her mouth. She was well aware of the power behind the spell. For the first time Juli saw something other than the arched smile on her face—fear.

"You shoot that thing, and she dies!"

The darkspawn's empty eyes were next to Doreen's face. He held a sharp claw against her neck. Pressed hard enough into her Adam's apple to make her tanned skin sink deep.

Doreen's staff laid on the floor. She tried to pull herself free, however, the strength of he foul creature overwhelmed hers.

Quinn and Omar held their gaze intensely at the creature. Their eyes showing nothing but hate for the wicked being.

"Tell your friends to drop the mojo little hunter," its voice had that cynical tone appeared to amuse only the psychopathic darkspawn, "or your girlfriend dies."

Juli wanted to shoot him. That unnerving feeling of helplessness engulfed him. He glanced at Quinn and Omar.

Their eyes weren't sure of anything—for all they knew, this darkspawn would slit Doreen's throat regardless of whether they dropped the spell or not. The two mage lovers shared a look, speaking that unspoken language language Juli had yet to learn. They both nodded and uncrossed their staffs.

"Fools!" It lifted its claw high.

They had made a mistake. Juli had made a mistake. Now the girl that showed him that mages could be good would die. The girl that got him through Father's grief would perish at the hands of a demon that somehow bared Father's face. For the smallest fraction of a second, the blackened and unnatural hand hovered above Doreen's short brown hair. It was a moment of misery. A moment of desperation. A moment so grim and cruel that it gripped Juli and constrained him with the chains of fear. Her big green emeralds sparkled, eyes filled with tears because she would be leaving this world. She would leave Juli. In that moment, he finally understood the unspoken language between Quinn and Omar. Doreen spoke to him thorough those beautiful eyes, in that silent language—she was saying goodbye.

The claw came down hard. Juli couldn't witness this, so his eyes automatically shut. He heard something squeak, like the sound a pig makes in agony. He opened his eyes to look at the harrowing reality. For a moment, before lifting his eyelids, his brain imagined how Doreen would look like. Perhaps laying on the floor, a stagnant red pool underneath her corpse. Or maybe blood spurting from her decapitated neck. The visuals on his mind were unbearable. His eyes finally gave way. Doreen still stood, her face was covered in soot. Next to her, the darkspawn's neck spewed blood from where the head used to be. It's blood, black as space, sprayed madly from the top of its neck, where Father's head used to be. Juli's stomach convulsed at the scenery. Behind the headless corpse that swayed back and forth, Marcus stood. His sword was held in a diagonal position. Black ichor dripped from its tip—the young warden had beheaded the demon that kidnapped Mother. Gyles was next to him, flail at the ready as the witch approached them.


	42. Redemption

"Go!" Marcus almost screamed into Doreen's ears.

The girl was in sheer shock. She had been a heartbeat away from dying. How could she not be dumbstruck by everything.

Juli shook off the dread, and rushed towards her. He picked up her staff. As he crouched, he saw the body plump to the ground. Father's head laid next to the blackened corpse. The face bared a grimace of horror. He abruptly turned away from the limp corpse as, even thought it wasn't a gory fountain anymore, seeing Father's head unattached was sickening and painful.

"Come on." He grabbed her wrist. He pulled her away from the witch, which was at arm's length from them.

"Do you have any idea how hard we worked?" Her voice was raspy.

Juli and Doreen turned and were surprised to see the two long line of tears that ran down her glowing purple cheeks. Her sneer was gone. It was replaced by a solid line.

"For something that I didn't even I want." Her forlorn was so palpable, that Juli almost felt for the demonic witch.

"I didn't care. I just wanted purpose, and he gave it to me." She glanced at the immovable corpse.

Did she feel for that psychopath? Can such creatures feel for one another?

"I was lost. He found me and put me on the path that led to _something._ The Dales."

If it hadn't been for the fact that Juli had seen how evil and ruthless she was, he would have, maybe, felt some sympathy towards her plight.

"But you know what?" The solid line her lips made arched upwards—her sneer came back. "You," she pointed a long and purple finger towards Gyles and Marcus, "gave me new purpose; TO KILL YOU ALL!"

Her manic laugh came back. Her hair made her look like medusa, black mad stabbing hair ready to devour meat wiggled above and behind her head. Before they knew it, one of those haired snakes thrusted through Marcus' chest. He dropped his sword. Both of his hands to his sides, futilely trying to move as his whole body spasmed from pain. Blood squirted from his mouth. After a long and agonizing moment, the jagged knife of hair that peered from his armored chest pulled itself out. It left a shallow whole in the middle of the human's torso. Inside the opening, it was craggy and coated in scarlet blood.

"No!" Doreen snatched her staff from Juli's hand.

A chilling breeze engulfed the room. Brusque and cold winds blew snow about. Doreen's slowly raised to the air. Her robe hovered above the floor.

"Doreen no!" The keeper screamed.

The witch, with the same motion she made the fireball disappeared, knocked Doreen off the air. Her towering body was hurled against Juli. He tried to hold her, however, this was useless as her weight knocked them both hard to the floor.

"Don't bother kid. You don't even come close to my strength."

Doreen's green eyes shimmered with hate for the witch. She tried getting up, however, the attempt was futile. Juli could see the struggler she went through as her muscles quavered before making any kind of movement.

"You're right, she doesn't." Gyles stepped forth. "Let's see if that's true for me." With fail at the ready he defied the demonic witch. "He was a good man." He glanced at Marcus' corpse. "But you don't care, do you?"

The witch's expression was unreadable. Her lips were a solid line once more. "You didn't care either." The wiggly mad hair became flat and unmoving. The long and uniform hair covered her blank eyes, half of her cheeks and sneer were the only thing visible on the shadow it made on her face. "He was a good man too." She glanced at the unnatural corpse. At least that's what it looked like as she cocked her head towards it.

At times the witch was so human that it was hard to not feel something for her, even if that something was hate. Even though Gyles gave her a chance at talking, the warden was still wary with the chained head of his deadly weapon at chest-level.

The vibrant purple hue of her skin started to fade away. A pale white took over her body. "Go ahead kid. There's no reason for me to be here anymore."

For a moment Gyles and the witch held a gaze. A look that was unreadable and scary. It was unclear whether they were getting ready to fight one another, or giving each other condolences for their losses. The demon spun on a heel and started to walk away from Gyles.

"Oh no you don't." Eva, with daggers at the ready, charged towards the witch.

Gyles gripped her elbow. "No Eva. He," he cocked his head towards the blackened headless corpse, "was the mastermind behind all of this. She'd harmless without him."

Eva's face was all grim and annoyed. "You call what she did harmless?"

Gyles gazed at the lifeless body of what used to be Marcus. He was in pain. Marcus and him appeared to be so fond of one another. Perhaps in the short time they had become friends. Now that friendship, or what could had been one, was destroyed by the mad witch. "No." he responded plainly. He couldn't argue with her, she was right—regardless of how the demon felt, she had killed one of the wardens.

Eva was stunned when she turned around and witnessed what the witch was doing. The drapes of her black hair covered the body of the deceased darkspawn as she hugged the headless corpse against her chest. They were all flustered by the action of such being. The witch and the darkpsawn were more than evil associates—she felt for him.

Their attention was stolen by the clack of shackles. Erick, Theresa and Theodore were freeing Mother. Cathy was unconscious, or at least that's what Juli had hoped it to be as her eyes were closed. He'd had expected the witch to go mad again…but no. She kept holding the headless body. It was as if she didn't even notice that her prisoners had been freed.


	43. Twin Sister

Juli and Doreen rushed towards Mother. Every part of her body was exposed and bruised. Theodore appeared to be studying her as if looking for something. For a moment, the awkwardness of another young boy looking at Mother's naked body lingered. He fixed his spectacles and started healing Mother. In no time, her bruises were gone and her eyes fluttered open. She squinted her eyes, trying to see what was going on in the dim light. They glanced about the room. She made a sudden jump as her eyes landed at the back of the witch. They flicked back to Juli.

"Get out of here. It's not safe." She spoke quickly. Her face was that of prey that had been hunted for months by wolves. She and Tobias must had been through horrifying things here.

"We're not leaving without you." Theresa softly placed a hand on Mother's shoulder. Cathy stared at the tall woman with nothing but bewilderment in her face.

"There's no time to explain." Erick stated.

Mother complied and nodded. She wrapped one arm around the neck of the sturdy woman. She got to her feet and cocked her head towards Tobias, "Help him."

Erick walked towards the unconscious man.

"He's dead." The witch said plainly. "I'm sorry, Cathy." Her whole body was a blue fire that engulfed her and the headless corpse next to her. She held Father's head on one hand.

Mother gazed at the witch with nothing but hatred. "I'll never forgive you for what you did, sister."

Oddly enough, the blaze didn't burn anything. While she burnt, the witch's eyes were filled with black pupils and brown irises. And somehow the wry grin of hers was gone. It was replaced by a solid line, however, this one was somehow different—a human smile. Her eyes gazed at Mother. "You always had everything." Her voice was more human, ridded of that evil cadence that it had about it."Husband, son, people that love you and _cared_ for you." Her eyes darted at all the people that had come to rescue Cathy. "I never had any of that."

"You chose that when you decided to use Mother and Father for blood magic." Cathy's tone was raspy. As if the mention of her parents poked her throat and made it difficult to speak.

The witch said nothing. She turned back to look at the bodiless head she held under her armpit. "Yes. I chose that, for love."

Mother glanced at Tobias' lifeless body. Her eyes shimmered with tears in the dark. This was the man, besides Father, that had been by her side this whole time. And her _sister_ killed him in cold blood. Did she really kill him? Or was it Father's demonized self?

Mother spat on the damp floor. "You're _sick._ " She said as she contemptuously turned to look at the witch of her sister.

This time Mother's sister looked like she wanted to say something but said nothing. Her whole body was a blue bonfire that grew by the second.

"Don't you try anything, witch." Eva said defiantly as she brandished her daggers.

The witch ignored her. "I'm sorry about him." The blue flame started to consume them both . "Kurl—"

"Don't you _dare_ to say his name. That's _not_ him." Mother cut the witch off. Her tone was as sharp as the edge of a knife.

"He wanted Tobias dead. Not me." The flames had consumed the corpse and head of the darkspawn, half of the witch's body had just _vanished_ as well. "I'm so sorry sister it had be to this way." The front drapes of her hair had been consumed by the blue blaze as well, revealing sharp elven ears. Once her face was bared by the fire, the resemblance was uncanny—she looked _exactly_ like Mother. For the shortest second Juli could see the outline of tenderness in her face as well. And then the fire took over the entire face and she was gone.

Juli felt nothing but sheer confusion. All faces turned to look at Cathy.

Mother still stared at where the witch…her sister had been. The tears in her eyes were gone, however, her face was a forlorn grimace. She snapped and turned to all of the eyes that bore into hers. "Yes, that was my twin sister."

Everyone was baffled by this. They all had questions, especially Juli. He wanted to know why Mother never mentioned any of this to him; having a twin sister, that sister murdering her parents. Juli wanted to know if he had inherited his gift from this witch, he surmised that that was the most logical explanation to it. "We are all related," the darkspawn had said—he was talking about the witch and Juli. He glanced at Doreen, whom was as confused as he was. She and Mother gazed at each other. Doreen almost abruptly turned her eyes away from Mother, as if feeling betrayed. Everyone had the right to feel betrayed—Mother had lied to everyone all this time. Were there any other secrets she kept from them?

The keeper came rushing towards them. "Cathy, are you ok?"

If Omar had felt betrayed like they did, he didn't show it. Cathy's eyes turned to him and she gave him a quick nod.

"Why haven't you freed Tobias?" The keeper said quickly.

They all glanced at one another. Their plain expressions said everything.

Omar's expression sagged. His small eyes gazed at Tobias, his face was all pain for the fallen hunter.

"Hate to interrupt the moment," a male voice startled them all, "but we have a problem."

They all turned to witness something that could only be best described as a nightmare. They hissed, groaned and brandished their deadly claws—the caged darkspawn had freed themselves.


	44. Playing The Hero

It had to be dozens of rows before they could reach the door. Row after row of foul and wicked darkspawn hungry to devour flesh. Juli readied his bow.

"What do we do?" Quinn nervously asked Gyles, whom still knelt next to his deceased friend.

The flail wielder whispered something on Marcus' ear, and then stood tall with flail at the ready, "We _fight._ "

The unnatural and corrupted creatures charged towards them. Juli took the first shot. The arrow coated itself with that powerful green smoke. At arm's length from the frontline of the enemy, it went through the hairless skull of the darkspawn in the middle. It's blackened skin started smoldering with green, eventually exploding. That explosion, to Juli's surprise, chained to the next creature—eradicating the first row with one shot. He noticed that Mother looked at him as if her son was a stranger she'd never met before. Half of his face was lightened with green, baring one side of the wolf painted with black on his face.

"Juli." She whispered his name. He could see how scared she was of her own son.

"And you haven't seen the least of what he and Doreen can do." Theresa boastfully said to her. The sturdy woman showed nothing but praise for Juli's gift.

"The least that you won't get to see." Eva chimed in. "Remember our deal, Juli?" The tall and limber woman arched an eyebrow.

"We can't leave you to die here." Omar said anxiously as there was no time for talking, the next row of foe was closing in.

The woman grinned."We're grey wardens, dying to prevent the Blight is our duty."

"Eva is right." Tailor's voice was barely understandable as the groans of the darkspawn grew louder. "The deal was you get your people and go back."

"It's too many of them, you won't make out alive. " Omar tilted his staff forward, a green barrier appeared in front of them.

The creatures banged hard on it, however, the barrier was too strong for their claws to break through.

"I'll stay with them." Theresa said plainly. She glanced at Erick. The young hunter bared a face of horror as the woman proposed this. "If I stay," her gaze was fixed on Erick, "and I help them, they will have chance at making it back."

For a moment the two of them spoke that unspoken language that was only understood by lovers. "Why do you always have to play the hero?" Erick pleaded.

She stepped forward and pressed her lips against his. She pulled back."I'll come back. I _promise._ "

"You won't have to. You're not staying with us. I won't lose anyone else." Eva said definitively.

"There's too many of them. I know I'm not a grey warden and I don't know anything about darkspawn." She was being solemn,"But I bloody know that there's way too many for three to handle. Now four, have a greater chance at making it out of here alive. You've done so much for us." She gestured towards Cathy. "Let me repay you with laying you a hand in battle."

It was hard to argue—she had a point. The wardens glanced at each other.

"Fine." Gyles said, the struggle in his agreement was palpable.

"I'll stay too." Erick enthusiastically offered.

Theresa turned to face the young and blonde hunter. She placed a pale hand on his cheek. "They need you." Her voice was just loud enough for Juli to barely hear it. They gazed at each other intensely. The hunter's eyes shimmered in the dark with tears. He didn't want to leave her here. "Promise me you will protect Cathy with your life. Promise me."

Struggling to agree to leaving her, he nodded.

"Oh right then." Eva gestured towards the barrier that grew weaker, the keeper struggled to keep it up as he was sweating profusely. "Can you extend that barrier to the sides so we can get them to through the door."

While his chest heaved he made something that looked like a grimace. "I can barely keep this one up, and you expect that I just _shift_ the barrier to the side. "

"Well, I don't know anything about magic." Eva said defensively.

"You alone cannot." Quinn held Omar's free hand. "However, together we can."

As a pin deflates a balloon, a wail pierced the moment. One of the creatures somehow got through the barrier. Juli assumed it was because its body was a lot more firm than the others. While the others were just as deadly, they were skinnier. On the other hand, this darkspawn, rather than having black, it had _grey_ on its skin. It held the timid boy's head one hand that had to be twice the size of it. The creature was so tall that it almost touched the roof. Legs kicking, hands futilely trying to get the giant's hand off him, Theodore cried and wept in pain. The vile creature smiled, baring two sharp bottom fangs that were so long that their jagged ends were paralleled to its flat nose bridge.

"Theodore!" A blizzard roamed about. Doreen was lifted off the floor once again. Frost danced like a snake around her staff. Snow and cold winds made Juli shiver. Those green eyes turned to the blue of the snow freckle that her staff supported.

Even though his whole body shivered from the clod, he also shuddered from _fear._ He could feel the utter strength that radiated from the spell Doreen was casting. Frozen diamonds appeared on the shaft of her staff.

"Doreen stop!" The keeper called out, struggling to maintain the barrier that kept the other darkspawn at bay. "If you keep…" his voice was barely audible as the strong and chilling winds made it hard to speak, "you could die!"

The all-powerful mage ignored her teacher and went on. Her staff became a frozen spear that had to have all of her magic in it, in the dim room it looked like a shooting star that was frozen in time. The blue spear pointed itself towards the giant that squeezed Theodore's tiny head as easily as one would crush a bug. With waving gestures from its master, the icy weapon, with great speed, headed towards the head of the grey giant.

The spear careened into the left eye of the beast. It thrusted itself into the grey hairless head until it came out the other side, blue ichor coated the frozen and jagged head of the weapon. Struggling to get the weapon out of its eye, it let go of Theodore. The boy fell as unaware and smooth as a feather. Theresa rushed to catch the boy. Amazingly enough the hunter caught him. Theodore's head had blood lines across his forehead. It was hard to tell if he was alive or not. Doreen fell to the floor as well, her white robe making her look like a dove that lost its balance after its wings failed on it. Unlike Theodore, no one noticed her fall so there was no time to catch her. Head first she hit floor. Juli rushed towards her.

"Juli no!" He heard Mother shout from behind him.

Too late.

While he helped Doreen get to her feet, the looming silhouette of the giant cast a shadow above him and Doreen. Juli could feel that something big hovered above him. His heart started beating so fast that it felt as if it wanted to out of his chest. Even though he was consumed by dread, he mustered up the courage to look what was above him. The giant's left eye was a whole that dripped with blue blood. He held the frozen staff in one hand an threw to a side. It grinned viciously at Juli. Out of fear he tried to carry Doreen, whom was almost twice his size, and made a run for it, however, he was suddenly stopped by the giant grey fist that landed in front of him. He turned his head to see that sinister grin the beast had on its face. He wanted to reach his bow, however, dread kept him frozen. From this close, he could see that this was not darkspawn. Its muscular and giant figure was nothing resemblant to the lithe shape of a darkspawn. However, the one thing that told him that this was not a darkspawn was its eyes. As oppose to the empty and blank eyes of the darkspawn, this giant's eyes were filled with black. They weren't human eyes in any way, but they for sure were not darkspawn's eyes either. The beast would breath heavily, Juli couldn't tell whether it was because it felt pain from its missing eye or that was just its natural breathing.

"Take this bastard!"

The war cry was followed by a thud. Then he caught a glimpse of Gyles' blonde short hair in the air. The grey face of the giant was twisted to one side, two yellow teeth fell out from its mouth. Thin trails of saliva dripped down its wide chin.

"Get her out of here Juli!" The warden's booted feet had just touched the ground as he commanded Juli. His wooden and spiked weapon hung parallel to his waist, blue trickles of blood dripped from its tip—the warden had bashed hard into the jaw of the grey creature.

Juli shook off the fear that kept him frozen, Doreen was coming to her arm around his shoulder they both heavily walked back to…the _horde_ of darkspawn that was between them and their way out of here.

When he reached Mother and the others, Quinn, Omar and Tailor were all working together on _shifting_ the barrier so that they would push the darkspawn to a side and get out of here. With their staffs in front of them, they walked forward. As three powerful and experienced mages advanced, the barrier bended away from them. As a tide cut in half, the magical wall gave away with every step they took. There was something beautiful about the moment, Juli thought.

Another cry of pain reached Juli's ear. They all looked behind them. The giant gripped Gyles with both hands, as one would crush a branch it crushed Gyles. The cries of agony were those of a child in pain. Eva charged towards the creature, with daggers at the ready she jumped and pried the sharp blades into the wrist of the evil grey giant.

"I must go." Theresa said plainly. She handed the unconscious Theodore to Erick.

Another moment of that gaze was shared between the blonde hunter and the valiant moment. Erick's eyes sparkled with tears on them."Go be a hero." Her forced a smile.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a solemn nod. With daggers at her side and bow and quiver slung over her shoulder, she swooped into a battle that no one knew whether she would come back from it or not.

"We must go." Erick forced himself to say the words. The reluctancy to not leave the woman he loved here was obvious.

Mother nodded. So did Doreen, although Juli couldn't tell whether she was being aware of where she was, her eyes were half-open. Two green emeralds that are not shinning at their best, it was depressing to Juli seeing her injured like this. She was still out of it, at least she's still alive, Juli thought. He had one last look at the corpse of what used to be Marcus. The man had died protecting Doreen. Once again the feeling of guilt overwhelmed him, even though he knew he couldn't stop the witch, he felt that he could have done _something_ to stop the witch from cutting open the warden's chest. Another undeserved death. He was a good man; he hadn't been one for most of his life, however, he _chose_ to a be a good one. He chose to give up his allegiance to the chantry, and redeemed himself by becoming a grey warden. Just like Uncle's death—unfair and undeserved.

He caught a glance of Mother staring at Tobias' chained lifeless body. Two long line of tears ran down her cheeks. If Marcus had been a good man, at least for most of the short time Juli knew him, then Tobias was an angel. The man had always been there for Mother and Juli. When Father died, he was there. When the camp burned, he was there. Even now that Mother had been kidnapped he was there by her side until the end. At least until his end.

"Move!" Quinn shouted from the front.

"We can't leave Tobias here!" Juli snapped.

"He would only slow us down." There was a hint of regret in Erick's voice.

Juli scowled at the hunter. How can he say that? He expects Tobias' body to just rot away indignantly in the entrails of wherever we are?

"He's right Juli." Mother's raspy voice broke Juli's frown.

"But…"

"I know." Her words came out muffled. She had one last look at the only one she could love after Father passed away and turned into the thing her sister created. Her wet eyes gazed back at Juli.

Understanding, he nodded. They didn't have much time. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Erick was right by saying that carrying a lifeless corpse was an unnecessary load that would do nothing but slow them down.

As commanded by the mage, they all moved. Juli could see the great struggle Mother went through to walk. After all she and Tobias had been through, Juli thought, to find out he was dead must had been devastating.


	45. Kindred Foe

Despite her loss she walked forward, her naked body quavered from the cool temperature that lingered after Doreen's all-out spell. As they walked through the tunnel that the mages had created _inside_ the magical barrier, darkspawn brandished their talons and fangs viciously at them. No matter how hard they hit the barrier, the magical barricade would just flash at their strikes. Strolling through the middle of such arched transparent tunnel and knowing that there were creatures that were hungry for your flesh was horrifying. Eventually they made it to the door. Once they were through the tunnel, the arched way went back to its natural state—it forged itself into a bubble that kept the darkspawn locked in.

"Watch out!"

As soon as the arrow was in the air and Juli gripped his bow, time slowed. He was aware that only the magic of his bow would allow his perception to process information so fast. Even though he could see the arrow going for Quinn before anyone else, his eyes caught sight of it too late. The head of the deadly dart shone in the dim air, it went through Quinn's left shoulder.

He hadn't seen it coming, he was too focused on keeping the barrier active. The mage from the Circle of Magi wailed in pain. His staff escaped from his hand.

Omar, dumbstruck by the unexpected blow, gnarled, "Quinn!"

Like a snake slithering around a tree, lightning stated dancing from top to bottom on his staff. He tilted the powerful rugged tree branch forward, a lightning bolt as white as a cloud propelled forward. An electrical dart breaking through the darkness that the arrow had come from.

He ran towards Quinn. The black robed mage, with nock peering from his shoulder, tried to reach for the wound.

"You're gonna be ok." Omar's words came out fast, he was breathing heavily. Scared and dreadful that Quinn might not make it out of here alive.

Juli held Doreen closer to him, he didn't want to lose her to whatever lurked in the dark. The half-unconscious girl fluttered her eyes open. Surprisingly enough she gave him a resilient look—she could stand on her own. For a moment he hesitated, but then let go of her and she was ready to fend for herself.

Another arrow in the air, this time Juli reacted fast and on time. He readied his bow and fired. Coated in that powerful and, now that he'd witnessed it, explosive green fog, the arrow met the other in midair. As expected Juli's arrow cut open through the other, it careened into the darkness to search for foe.

"What was that?" Erick's eyes searched the room, frantically looking for any threats that may be about.

"You ungrateful brat." A low and hissing, and yet very much familiar voice came from the dark.

All of their eyes jerked with fear as the face came to light.

"Brother…" Erick whispered almost to himself.

Juli didn't need to dwell much to know what this was; a darkspawn who managed, just like the one that bared Father's face, to wear Erick's brother's. He died the same day Father died while hunting. Does that mean that every hunter that day became a darkspawn? That would make sense, Juli thought. The night the Grey Wardens showed up, some of the wicked creatures that attacked them wielded bow and arrow as any hunter would. So that was them.

"Brother." It made a beckoning gesture with its clawed hand, trying to pull the same crap the other darkspawn tried on me. "Come with me, and we will claim back the Dales."If it weren't for its blackened hands, anyone would think this darkspawn was a human as its humbling and imploring expression was as genuine as any brother begging another one to join him. But they knew better. The whole clan knew that Erick's brother had died hunting with Father.

Juli caught a glance of a black _onyx_ arrow in the air. Even with his slowed perception he couldn't quite catch a good look at it as his eyes were fixed on the creature that wore Erick's brother's face.

The taloned hand caught the arrow in front of him. How can his empty and blank eyes see so much?

"You're not Thomas." Erick said plainly.

"Really?" The creature's sneer was akin to the witch's, eerie and wicked. "Then why do I know that you wetted the bed until you were ten."

A weasel that left as soon as it came. "Kurl always had a good taste for the ladies."

Mother covered her breasts. An instant seething anger was born inside Juli at the harassment. He didn't hesitate and shot an arrow that erupted with thunderous lightning at the creature next to Thomas' darkspawn-possessed body.

The electrified arrow hit him on its blackened chest, making its body plummet abruptly to the ground. Juli thought for sure the arrow would knock the wind out of the creature, eventually hurling him across the room. Yet, the darkspawn seemed to be somewhat immune to the lightning as it knelt on the ground, though struggling with the impact of the strike, but it still managed, gritting its sharp and yellowed teeth, to get up. "From the power that had, I gather you're Kurl's son." The creature snarled at Juli as it placed an unnatural hand on the still simmering half part of his chest. It finally gathered its bearings. "You know, that bow was a gift from your father. And you saw him die and did _nothing_. I can't let such an ungrateful pampered brat live."

Juli knew the creature, just like the one that wore Father's face, was just trying to get in his head. However, a small part of Juli thought that there might be some truth to what he's saying…

 _He is lying,_ his bow told him.

A purple lighting bolt split in half in midair, both electric beams heading for the two once-hunters of clan Velthrin.

Unlike Juli's electrified arrow, this one knocked the wind from them, both blackened bodies flew through the hair. Their backs hit a an arched and vaulted wall that was the roof to one of the cages.

"Go!" Tailor howled.

Out of instinct they all headed for the door. Juli glanced at Doreen, the resilient mage tried her best to run, even though her fatigue only allowed a slow jog. Mother ran, she wrapped herself around a green blanket that somehow she had produced. The keeper was right behind Mother, his gait slowed by the bleeding Quinn. Trickles of flood ran down from his injured shoulder. Erick, whom carried the unconscious Theodore in his arms, was at the rear. Juli noticed that the blonde hunter looked behind him as he ran. Beyond the now-freed darkspawn, since without Quinn and Omar Tailor couldn't alone keep the barrier active, Gyles, Theresa and Eva were on top of a grey mound—they had defeated the giant. However, now there was a swarm of darkspawn free and hungry to kill them. The young hunter forced himself to look forward. He glanced at Mother. The hunter had promised Theresa that he would protect her. Juli assumed that Erick didn't want to break his promise the one he loved. For a moment Juli thought that the brokenhearted hunter would just drop Theodore and swoop into battle to help Theresa, however, he kept on moving forward. Right before reaching the door, he heard the sound of when fire first ignites. The rapid hiss of air came from darkspawn that were ablaze with blue fire behind them. Flames so vivid that they almost reached the roof the damp room. Tailor casted some type of spell, maybe? If so, how were going to make it out of there alive?

If Erick felt the same dread Juli felt, he sure didn't show it as the stoic hunter held his gaze fixed on what was in front of him.

Eventually they were through the door. Doreen and Juli were on front, Mother was on their heels. Although they were going up the stairs, it didn't mean they were safe. Some darkspawn were following them. He could hear how the steps beyond Erick creak as the creatures follow them at a pace that was almost as fast as their own. Juli decided to take a glance behind him. They had been running up the stairs for sometime now so the green glow from the room was gone. It was utterly dark. However, some steps away from Erick's shimmer of armor, he caught a glimpse of four silhouettes. Above one of those shadowed figures, a shiny dot hovered above one of the shorter heads. For the slightest second, Juli's mind wondered what that was. He shook off the curiosity, if it had anything to do with darkspawn, it wasn't good news.

Juli could hear the heavy breathing coming from Doreen. The girl had give all of her to take down the giant. The spell that turned her own staff into a spear had the drained the life out of her. Despite her exhaustion, she kept moving.

He wondered how Quinn was doing. Before going through the door that led to the staircase, he'd caught glances of Omar struggling to run as he carried Quinn with one shoulder. In that moment the keeper looked resilient to get Quinn alive out of here alive no matter the cost.

He could hear Mother's breathing right behind him. She did not breath as heavily as Doreen though.

Oddly enough they made it to the top without the darkspawn that follow laying a claw on them. He didn't know if it was because of adrenaline fueled by fear, but the way up felt a lot shorter than when they had come down earlier on the old wooden stairs.

"Come on!" Juli screamed from the top of the long staircase.

Mother came through the door first. It was a couple of seconds before Omar and Quinn made it through. When the two mages made it through the door Juli saw that almost the entire robe Quinn wore was wet with blood. In the green glow the room's torches gave, Juli could see the beads of sweat that ran down his face, which was a lot more pale than usual.

Then finally Erick came in, Theodore still unconscious and carried by him. It was hard to tell if the healer was alive or not. The trickles of blood that ran down his face had dried up. From a distance they looked like permanent scars.

"Look out Erick!"

Juli didn't hesitate and shot an arrow at the silhouette that loomed behind Erick. The arrow whizzed through close to Erick's head as he ducked, blowing at his blonde curls.

The arrow suddenly stopped before it fully broke into the darkness, its head buried deep while its butt still peered out from the door. For a moment it seemed as if the arrow just floated in the air. Juli readied another arrow—this must be one of the darkpsawn that somehow managed to follow them. A head came to view, the arrow stayed still as if underwater. He didn't think things could get any worse after everything they had one through.

The face was _identical_ to Tailor's.

"We're not falling for your tricks." Juli defiantly pointed his bow at the creature. "What did you do with the real Tailor!" His hands felt heavy. He was tired, however, he wasn't going to give up so easily. He had lost so many people at this point; Tobias, Father, Uncle, and, even if he didn't get a chance to know the man well, Marcus. He was not about letting Mother die at the hands of these savages. He was willing to do anything to get Mother out of here alive.

A soft hand on his shoulder felt like feather on rock, soothing on the hard surface. He turned and found those big green eyes gazing at him. There was nothing in them but sincerity.

"That's the real Tailor." The realization was like a broken mirror, sudden and unexpected.

His eyes saw it, however, his brain had trouble believing it. Tailor's eyes were not empty and white. They rather beady and black. A trickle of dread ran down his spine.

He had shot the real Tailor. He dropped his bow and his body knelt. "I'm sorry." Tears welled his eyes. "I thought he was a darkspawn."

"No kidding." Tailor, as always, sounded weary from old age.

Now even more bewildered than ever, Juli craned his head. To his surprise, the arrow didn't even scratch Tailor's gut. The mage held the black arrow on his left hand, staff with the transparent diamond on the other—that must had been the shiny dot he had seen in the staircase before.

"I thought I killed…."

Tailor walked, with the staff on front first gait, towards Juli. His regal figure loomed over. He extended out a hand.

Juli took it.

The old warden smiled, almost blatantly. "You thought you killed me? I thought the same thing when I almost hit you with my special spell. So I guess we're even."

Juli smiled at the ironic joke. However, part of him still didn't believe that the arrow hadn't even tickled the mage as the projectile was fast and coated with the powerful green fog. He studied the mage for any injuries and then he saw it; smoke billowed from the hand that gripped the arrow.

Tailor noticed Juli staring at his burned palm, "I guess we're not even then." he said playfully.

"I'm sorry." Juli gazed at the ground, ashamed of his brute mistake.

"Sorry for what kid? If anything, you did the right thing. You saw a threat, and you responded to it." There was a hint of pride in how Tailor spoke. He looked at his hand. It was madly charred, however, the mage still managed to move it with no problem. "That power of yours," the warden's eyes studied his injury with some kind of fascination, "it is pure from the Fade. You have a gift, take care of it."

A gift? The same thing Omar had said. He looked at the red arc. Is this a gift of heredity since my aunt is a witch?

"My aunt is an evil witch…" he mouthed the words quietly to himself. The thought wasn't just crazy, it was unbearable. What if I turn out like her?

The corner of his eye caught movement, and noticed that Erick almost dropped Theodore to the ground. The blonde hunter walked fast towards them. Juli follow him with a gaze. Theresa had just come through the door, at the heels of Eva and Gyles. They both embraced each other in a hug.

"What happened to the darkspawn?"Omar's question brought reality back.

Eva and Gyles glanced at one another. Their faces were startled and sweaty. Neither of said anything as if they didn't have an answer.

"They all burned." Tailor broke the silence.

"What does that mean they all burned?" The keeper winced, his face full of bewilderment.

Tailor gave him a careless shrug. "They all just were aflame with the same blue fire the witch had burned herself with."


	46. A Way Out

"Can everyone stop dwelling into where the darkspawn went and figure out how to get out of this bloody pit?" Eva barked.

She was right. What mattered was that, somehow, the darkspawn were gone. For a moment there was something that Juli thought he had missed. The darkspawn were gone, just like that? Something, not his bow, but rather his _gut_ told him that a horde of darkspawn would not disappear just like that. The witch, or his aunt, wanted to kill them all so she was not the one who set the darkspawn ablaze with blue fire. He thought hard and carefully. He glanced around the room, probing if there was something amiss. He got nothing.

"Cathy."

Mother was startled by Omar as she made a sudden flinch at hearing his voice. Juli noticed how Mother too glanced about the room. Like an animal placed on a new habitat, her eyes darted around the room with fascination.

How long had she been down there? A couple of days? Juli surmised that for her that must had felt like weeks. It was hard to tell time when one didn't see the sun.

"I don't know how you were brought here. But, by any chance, did you see this room when they brought you here?"

Mother frowned. She was deep in thought as her whole face contorted into a mild grimace. "I think…I remember falling down."

Theresa threw one of her daggers to the air. When the blade reached the roof, it went through solid. "It's the same way we came here…sort of."

"How in the bloody hell do we get up there?" Eva thought out loud as she craned her head.

The sound of ripped clothes made all of their eyes look at Mother. She was naked from feet to thigh. She held a green and long piece of fabric on her hands.

"Will this work?" She lifted what resembled a green rope.

—-

It took them a few attempts at getting the rope to attach to something from the other side. Erick attached the piece of green cloth Mother had offered to one of his arrows. He shot many times before he could get the black arrow to hold on to something. Eventually, after an excruciating amount of tries, something held the arrow tight.

Even with the piece of fabric through, it was not easy task to climb up to the roof. Anything too heavy could just rip the rope since it wasn't a a traditional one, it was a piece of cloth. They decided that Juli was the best candidate to go through first. In reality Theodore would had been the best candidate to go through first, however, the lithe boy was still unconscious. At first Mother bucked at the idea of Juli going through. Omar, somehow, convinced her that there were no dangers beyond the roof. And he was right. When Juli got through, there was nothing but the night sky filled with stars.

Gyles was right about the arrow losing its grip had they sent someone even a pound heavier than Juli. The jagged tip of the arrow had gone through the canopy of a tent. It was barely held by the rope that held the tent down. Anyone who was the slightest heavier than Juli would just force the sharp edges of the arrow's head to rip through the rope.

Juli had decided to use the rope of that tent, as opposed to the haphazard rope made by Mother, this one was firm and strong. He tied the brown rope to the shaft of the arrow. Then pried the arrow on the dirt. Without much effort, Juli pulled each one of them out.

What surprised all of them even more, aside from the absence of Templars waiting for them, was that the horses were still here as well.


	47. A Thoughtful Ride Back

On the ride back Juli felt the toll of everything he had gone through. His feet ached. The smell of death they carried was overwhelming. The ride back to the camp felt longer than when they came to the "Fade," as Tailor called it. Was that really the Fade? If it was, Juli planned to stay the hell away from it. However, he wondered if that was where the deceased went. Did one go to a place full of darkspawn and mad witches when one passes? It was a scary thought. It frightened him because, if one really goes there after one's death, the thought of Uncle suffering for an eternity made Juli bristle with frustration and anger.

As they neared the camp, dawn came about. As they galloped through the green landscape it felt as if chasing the sun, the orange star was just raising from across the horizon. And as orange and natural light hit them, Juli noticed how dirty they were. His armor was blotted with black dots. His bow and quiver were utterly tainted with black blood. His gear carried that stench of death he had smelled back at the "Fade." Juli still had trouble believing that was the Fade as it felt to so _real_. He knew not much about the Fade, however, one time Mother had talked about it briefly. He remembered clearly that she had said something along the lines of "…the Fade is affected by your perception. Since it is a place where the dead wander, it would feel rather surreal if one were in it." The place had been at, whether it was the Fade or not, had felt very real to him.

His thoughtful investigation was ended by the sight of the camp. He couldn't believe it, they made it. He glanced at Doreen, those big green eyes gazed at him. They shared a smile. Juli looked at Mother. She gave him a smile as well, however, Juli could see the sadness in her eyes—she had lost Tobias. They all had. Another noble person's life,just like Uncle, taken by the wicked darkspawn. Or did the witch kill him? Is there a difference? Both of them are evil. Juli wondered what had happened to his _aunt_. A small part of him wanted to know more about her. He knew he couldn't just talk to her, not that he wanted to, however, something itched his brain that could only be scratched by her story. How come Mother wasn't a mage? Why didn't Mother _ever_ mention her to him? He didn't want to pry too much into it as he assumed that Mother was not inclined to talk after everything that had happened to her.


	48. The Most Powerful of Clan Velthrin Made

"We're here." Omar almost whispered to Quinn.

The black-robed mage had endured the pain of the bleeding whole in his shoulder. Theresa had pried the arrow out, she said that it was the only way for him to survive as the wood in flesh will just injure him more. The resourceful woman had ripped part of her trousers and wrapped the piece of cloth around the injured mage's shoulder. Quinn was unconscious, nonetheless, just like Theodore, he still breathed. Juli's eyes landed on the young healer. He almost felt a sense of admiration for the kid. To endure so much at such young age, Juli didn't think he could at the age of _eight_. Yet, the young and powerful healer had faced a giant, a mad witch, and an army of darkspawn and still lived. Admiration and respect, that's all Juli could feel towards the smart boy that wore spectacles.

They dismounted their horses. The grey wardens were on front, their eyes darting in every direction in the search of danger.

This is our camp, what dangers could there be? The thought felt silly. And Juli realized what had them so worried; the place looked deserted and quiet.

Gyles, with flail at the ready, approached a tent. The vivid sun of the morning revealed shadows through the white canopy.

The blonde warden took careful steps toward it. Juli readied his bow, for all they knew Templars might have have roamed about the camp while they were gone. His gauntleted hand grabbed the canopy. His eyes were all dread of what he might find. He yanked the piece of canopy that worked as a door for the tent. His tensed face was at ease.

He let out a sigh of relief. "It's the human and the blacksmith."

Patrick's black and bald head peered out of the tent. He smiled blatantly at their sight. He held one dagger with both hands. Clearly, Juli thought, he could craft weapons but he sure didn't know how to use them. Lou, Theodore's mother, Sam's mother and the blue-eyed boy stepped out of the tent as well.

"My poor boy!" Theodore's mother ran towards him. White hair trailed off behind her. Juli thought the woman to appear quite old to have an eight year old son.

"He'll be ok." Erick said plainly.

She took her son. As a mother cradles a baby, she took Theodore and carried him with both of her arms. The healer was coated with that black ichor that came from the darkspawn. His white staff looked black as it was utterly stained by it.

Juli noticed that Mother did not seem content to have arrived at the camp. Her grief must had been overwhelming. Juli knew that feeling, he felt the same way when Father had died; out of place. She clung the long green blanket to her body and went silently into her tent. Juli thought best to not bother her, however, he was, in a bizarre way, intrigued to ask her about his aunt. He wanted the _truth_ about her. Only if Uncle were here…

Even if Juli knew how damaging grief was, even then, he noticed that Mother was acting strange. He didn't know what to expect from someone that had gone through such an ordeal. Sure ,all of us faced giants and demons and were at the precipice of death, however, we had a _chance_ to fight. Mother didn't. She was chained, unable to fend for herself, and had to live horrors that he couldn't begin to imagine.

"Are you ok Doreen?" That soft voice caught Juli's attention. He sure was content to hear that voice again.

Even though Doreen could stand, yet, her fatigue was noticeable. Not to mention the black dots on her face, one would think she has some kind of disease. Anyone wold think we all carry a plague with how dirty we look and how much we stink.

"Sam." Doreen tried to smile. She reached inside her breastplate.

That bizarre feeling overwhelmed Juli again. He felt the sudden urge to suppress it. If Doreen noticed that he stared at her, she didn't care as she seemed focused on finding whatever it was that her breastplate held. After a few moments of fondling, she finally pulled out her hand.

"Here." Doreen offered something that was cupped between her hands to Sam.

The little girl's blue eyes were full of nothing but wonder. She reached inside Doreen's hands and pulled out a white flower. "You defeated the darkspawn?"

Doreen gave the innocent girl a benevolent smile. She glanced at Juli. When her eyes met his, there was a small furrow above her smile. She was asking him if he should lie to this girl. After all, they never defeated the darkspawn. It was luck more than anything else; the creatures, according to the wardens, just vanished.

"We." He regarded Sam, "We defeated the darkspawn, Sam. But, " he gave Doreen a whimsical look, "we couldn't have done it without her."

"When I grow up," the cadence of her voice was that of a vivid and loud orchestra, "I want to be an all powerful mage just like you." She pointed the flower at Doreen.

She wheeled and started running towards the green-eyed boy.

She waved the flower like a flag above her, " Look brother! Doreen the all-powerful-mage brought back the dogwood flower!"

"Somebody has a fan." Juli nudged her playfully.

She winced in pain.

"Sorry." Juli had almost forgotten that the girl had been thrown to the floor by a giant. She didn't have blood anywhere, however, she could have something broken inside.

"That's ok. What matters is that we made it back. Safe and sound."

Juli nodded.

"Safe and sound…" Juli whispered to himself.

Is that even true? Are we really safe? The witch, or my aunt, can come back for us. After all she didn't exactly die.

A thud startled Juli. With bow at the ready, he turned to see what it was.

Erick was helping Theresa get up. The sturdy woman had a hand on her left rib—she was hurt. After all of that fighting she did, how could she not be hurt? It's shocking enough that she is alive. For someone inexperienced to jump into battle, fight a giant and darkspawn willingly, a broken bone was the least amount of hurting that could have been done to Theresa by the wicked creatures. Erick helped her walk, she had an arm wrapped around his neck. They both headed for a tent.

That soft hand again on his shoulder. It was like a bucket of water dropped on fire, sudden and unexpected. He lowered his bow at the quelling of the battle adrenaline he still felt.

"You need to come down, Juli. We made it back. We brought Cathy back. We're _safe._ "

He gazed at those green eyes. He trusted those eyes as much as his. He nodded.

"And besides, we all have had enough darkspawn fighting." A sudden sniff twitched her face. "Also, we could use a bath."

Juli grinned. They both headed for the river.


	49. What the Brave Left Behind

Everyone ate. The all had washed themselves. At some point during the day Juli went to see if all of the gunk they brought would taint the lake, the water was as clear as the blue sky. Even though all of them had changed into clean garments and the stench of death was gone for the most part, that didn't make anyone forget.

No one had forgotten the lives lost. The horrors lived. Especially, Juli thought, Mother, most of all. Even though she hadn't say much he could see it in her forlorn face. She would just stared at the fire, mesmerized by it. Juli figured he wouldn't bother her. How long will it take her to come back? How long will it take her to overcome mourning Tobias? Only Andraste knew.

A small giggle was caught by Juli's ear.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

Doreen carried Lila. The toddler's head was on her right hand and its butt on the other. Those big green eyes would sparkle every time she looked at the baby. She cooed and the baby laughed. It was a beautiful song, Juli thought.

"Yes, just like her mother." Juli said, as his eyes too, sparkled when he looked at the pale baby. There was something endearing about the baby. Every time Juli looked at Lila he couldn't help to feel nothing but the waves of kindness that radiated from the baby.

"This is what she left us." Doreen's voice was muffled. "She gave us this beautiful life. Hope for the future."

Not sure of how to react he just listened.

"She told me to take care of her. Lila's grandfather will give anything to protect her. But he knows that he won't be around forever."

Juli gazed at the weary old man as he slurped that soup that Gyles knows how to make so well. The elder man hid himself well with the baby; when they arrived at the camp they found him under a blanket in the same tent that Patrick came out from. They all thought the horses approaching the camp were Templars. Juli thought it to be amazing enough that Lou and Patrick had, in a way, fended for the camp the whole time they were gone. Which, according to Lou, was about two days. Juli thought it had been more than two days as a lot happened in such short amount of time.

After a few hours of proper resting, Theodore awoke. Omar said he was suffering from a small concussion, however nothing too severe, the keeper had assured everyone. From time to time the poor healer would forget random things: like his name, that he was a mage, and even what he had gone through. However, he would remember again. The timid boy healed Quinn's gaping hole in no time. Omar thought for sure his loved one wouldn't make it, yet the black-robed mage endured the pain until the healer was back on his feet and ready to work. After that Theodore restored Doreen's mana levels. He also healed Mother's bruises. Then he even fixed Theresa's broken bones. The mage, as young and timid as he was, was truly powerful. On one occasion he tried to fix his brain damage but the keeper stopped him. Omar said that healing magic should not mess with one's brain as trying magic to fix such "complex" organ would only do more harm than good. The keeper assured him that some meditation would fix his memory problem.

Theodore tried to attend to the wardens' wounds, but they refused. Their wounds were small, however, that's not why they said no to the healer. They said their scars and wounds would only make them stronger. Juli thought it to be a stupid sentimental notion, but the warriors were very adamant about it. So the healer let them be.

Eva said they would leave in the morning. She had said they had to "report to the order." Tailor, before supper, gave Juli a diamond. Much like what crowned his staff, however, this one was a lot smaller. Small enough that he was able to pocket it into his trousers. The weary mage said. "If you're ever in trouble, young man, just break it." He said breaking the shiny piece would let him know that Juli was in trouble. Oddly enough Juli felt some kind of bizarre fondness for the mage, even though the all-powerful mage almost killed him with that purple lightning bolt.

His eyes landed on Gyles. The blonde warden, just like Mother, stared at the fire. Juli assumed that the warrior mourned his fallen companion; Marcus. The two of them had an instantaneous chemistry. Even Juli felt for the Templar that died. He found the feeling rather strange, to feel anything at all for a Templar, even if the man had become a warden at the end, was nothing but alien to an elf.

"He was a good man." Doreen said as she noticed that Juli stared at Gyles. "He saved my life." Her eyes welled up with a pool of tears under them. She didn't carry Lila anymore, Shannon's father sat next to the sorrowful warden, he cooed cheerfully to his granddaughter.

He held her hand. "Do you think they will ever come back?" Juli didn't think it was the appropriate time for the question, however, curiosity overwhelmed him.

Doreen winced. She was baffled.

"My aunt."

It took her a few moments to realize what he meant. She had her other hand on top of his, cupping his hand on hers. "I don't know."

Even though Juli didn't have his bow he could feel the magic inside Doreen surging. Blue fire engulfed his hand, it didn't burn. It rather felt…empowering. Doreen's big green eyes were wet with tears, however, her expression was steel. "But if she does, we'll be ready."


	50. Kathy

That nephew of mine is in love with that pathetic mage? Almost thirteen and already making mistakes. It was around the same age my dumb sister gave up magic to be with that scabby elf she called Kurl. I guess I found some use for him in the end, the demon I summoned felt rather comfortable in his skin. And that Grey Warden just killed him, one of my beauties stolen off the chance at making great things. At bringing back the _Dales._

Kathy lay on a cot, across her nephew. Her sister's body worked great as a vessel. She had some doubts but it worked. She didn't like the pale skin of her, however, she had to play along. She couldn't blow her cover, not yet at least. As much as she hated admitting it there were a great deal of mages in this clan that could stop her the second they found out who she really was. She had to recruit first.

"Mother…" Juli groaned.

Kathy cleared her throat, "Yes?"

"You ok? Is something keeping you awake?"

The amount of caring the boy felt for her sister was sickening. But indeed something was keeping her awake. She needed to _plan._ She had to burn her whole army to make it to the surface alive. Part of the irony almost made her laugh. She didn't regret it, it got her out of the deep roads, so it was worth it. The boy still waited for an answer. For a moment she studied him; the resemblance between Juli and Kurl was uncanny. It made her cringe. Why couldn't he have looked more like us? She tried to pay no heed to the thought, at least, the power the boy possessed came from her family. However, the purity of his heart came from that vermin of an elf he calls Father.

She tried to gather her bearings to smile, "No honey. Just don't want to lose you again." She let some of the intoxicating kindness that she still felt from the new body. She had to play her part right.

"I'm sorry about Tobias." Juli said.

Is he trying to solace me? Kathy tried her best to not laugh. That worm deserved to die. He had given me a hard time as he almost helped Cathy escaped. She _tried_ her best to satisfy the boy with a grimace.

"Sorry I couldn't save you two."

 _Please stop! So much kindness. It hurts. It hurts!_

She quavered under her blanket.

"Don't worry about that." She was trying her best to keep her composure.

The boy looked surprised.

"What matters is that you're safe." She said.

 _Maybe he would shut up and go to sleep!_

The boy made a small yawn. Eventually his eyes gave up on him and he was asleep.

Kathy was too stoked to sleep. Being back on the surface was something she had wanted for years now. After her sister casted a spell that trapped Kathy inside the deep roads forever, all she ever wanted was to be back to the surface. For the longest time she wanted nothing but to come back to Thedas and rip Cathy's heart out for what she did. However, now that she had her son right in front of her, she thought of a better way to make Cathy suffer even more. The spell Kathy casted was more like a blending spell rather than a controlling one. Even though Cathy wasn't in control of her own body anymore, anything that Kathy wanted her to see she would see. It was as if two people were in a boat, however, only one of them could steer. And Kathy was the captain. To make her son suffer, yes that she will see. That's the best way to make her feel what I felt when I was trapped in the entrails of hell. And she knew exactly how to do it; by killing his love. The one he calls Doreen. Under her breath she muttered, "and after I have tortured 'Doreen' enough that the foolish girl will _beg_ for her own death, I'll bring back the Dales."


End file.
